LAKEVIEW — The Chicago Housing Authority closed a $19 million deal to buy three affordable housing apartment buildings for seniors, saving dozens of residents from eviction.
Buying the three Presbyterian Homes apartment buildings adds 111 units to the city's affordable housing stock. The real estate sale closed March 2.
"The CHA really stepped up to create long-term affordability for residents — current and future — in some of the city's most vibrant markets," said Stacie Young, director of The Preservation Compact, a group that helped facilitate the sale.
The residents currently living in 71 of the apartments will be able to stay, provided they quality for CHA programs. CHA tenants pay 30 percent of their income toward rent. The remaining 40 apartments will be reserved for people awaiting CHA placement.
The CHA expects to spend $3.3 million in building repairs and apartment updates in the next year. The anticipated cost of repairs was part of the reason Presbyterian Homes said it needed to sell the three properties.
In August, the company told more than 100 low-income residents its three Chicago residences were up for sale, giving them until November 2016 to vacate.
Presbyterian Homes said it could no longer afford to support the rent-subsidized apartments and sought a for-profit buyer. Residents said they'd been promised their remaining years could be spent in the homes, leaving them with few affordable options in a market where wait lists can span five years.
Politicians and nonprofit organizations leapt to the seniors' aid, and together they protested the ousting in Evanston and filed a lawsuit against Presbyterian Homes.
The lawsuit was dropped after CHA announced its plans to buy the apartments and keep them affordable.
The CHA provides housing to more than 64,000 low-income families and individuals in Chicago.
RELATED:
• CHA Saves Seniors From Eviction After Buying 111 Apartments for $19 Million (Jan. 19)
• Low-Income Seniors Sue Presbyterian Homes Over Planned Ouster (Oct. 16)
• Police Called When Senior Citizens Show Up At CEO's Door to Protest Ousting (Oct. 6)
• Seniors Living at Devon Place React to Presbyterian Sale: 'It's Disgusting' (Sept. 16)
• Low-Income Seniors To Be Ousted As Homes Shopped to For-Profit Buyers: Ald. (Sept. 12)
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