CLPHA Press Room

From the Chicago Housing Authority's press release:

In just a few months, the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) has made significant progress on its Restore Home initiative, fully restoring and leasing several multi-family buildings and single-family homes that were previously vacant due to extensive repair needs.

Announced in late 2023, Restore Home is a major capital effort to renovate and rehabilitate vacant buildings in the small and medium-sized apartments portfolio (commonly known as “scattered sites.”) Approximately three dozen small and medium-sized vacant apartment buildings around the city have been targeted for renovation, with more than 175 units brought back into leasable condition by mid-2025. An additional 40 single family homes are being renovated and made available for leasing or affordable homeownership opportunities.

CHA has pledged to invest up to $50 million under Restore Home.

As of April 30, 2024:

• Two multi-unit buildings are complete and fully occupied (five units total). Three single family homes are complete and pending occupancy.
• One seven-unit building is nearing completion and expected to be ready by mid-May.
• Fourteen buildings have been assigned to contractors and eight buildings are in the design phase and have architects assigned.

Shavon Nowell was one of the first residents to occupy one of the renovated scattered site units under Restore Home. She previously lived with her grandmother, who provided the financial support for housing. But when her grandmother died in November, Nowell and her three children were suddenly desperate for housing. Because of Restore Home, her name came up on the CHA wait list and she was housed by April.

“It was a weight lifted off my shoulders, because I was worried about where we were going to go,” Nowell said. “I thought we were going to be homeless.”

“This is what we do. This is what we are focused on at all times - providing quality living environments in strong communities that help families move forward. This is just an example but we do it every single day and will continue to do so,” CHA CEO Tracey Scott said.

Nowell said the program is definitely working and is thankful for her new housing. “CHA, you are doing what you said you were going to do,” she said.

Click here to see video of Shavon’s story.

From the Chicago Housing Authority's press release:

The Chicago Housing Authority is announcing the launch of “Cabrini Now,” a community-driven planning and design process to accelerate new mixed-income housing and economic development in the Near North neighborhood.

Cabrini Now builds on previous planning efforts, including the 2015 Development Zone Plan, to update and further the community’s vision for the neighborhood, and respond to current affordable housing needs in the area and across Chicago.

This effort is the first in a series of updated community planning initiatives that CHA will undertake to inform its long-term development strategy. A planning initiative around the State Street Corridor is scheduled to begin later this year.

CHA will host a Cabrini Now kickoff celebration from 5:30-7:30p.m., May 8 at Ogden-Jenner Elementary School on 1119 N. Cleveland Ave. The whole community is welcome to share their voice at this interactive event. The kickoff celebration will not only provide information about the planning process but will also invite community members to express their vision and priorities and share what they love most about living in Cabrini.

“Cabrini, like Chicago as a whole, has continued changing since 2015. How the neighborhood looks and feels is fundamentally shifting with rising housing costs and significant new developments like the Bally’s casino, Lincoln Yards and North Union,” said CHA CEO Tracey Scott. “CHA recognizes that it’s critically important for us to hear from community residents throughout this process. That’s why we’re taking an inclusive approach to amplify diverse voices and aspirations and ensure that the resulting vision and plan is a true reflection of the entire community’s wants and needs.”

“By proactively updating our plans for our large sites, we are laying the groundwork for more affordable housing construction,” Scott said.

The Cabrini Now kickoff celebration is the first of multiple public engagement meetings that will take place during the planning process. CHA has already begun to consult with key stakeholders in addition to CHA residents. The engagement process is designed to be equitable and family-friendly with people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds encouraged to participate. The kickoff celebration and future engagement meetings will include specific opportunities for children and youth to contribute their views too.

Cabrini Now will create development concepts for specific sites and for the remaining CHA land in the Cabrini neighborhood and development concepts for specific sites, including the vacant Cabrini Row Homes. The plan is expected to be released by the end of 2024.

Cabrini Now goals include:

• Update and build on the existing 2015 community plans and vision in a changing neighborhood context.
• Respond to the current and future affordable housing needs of the neighborhood and Chicago.
• Embrace all voices in the neighborhood and co-create a shared vision for Cabrini’s future.

CHA has retained planning and architecture firm Solomon Cordwell Buenz to lead this process. The project team will recommend an updated plan for Cabrini using the latest principles for building complete communities such as the 15-minute city concept popularized in Paris, as well as lessons learned in recent decades of community planning in Chicago.

Since 2005, CHA’s investments have resulted in more than 3,500 new homes in Cabrini, including almost 1,000 CHA-subsidized apartments. In addition to the Cabrini Now planning efforts, CHA also has three active development initiatives in the area:

• Oak & Larrabee (78 total homes, including 37 public housing units and 17 affordable rental units)
• Parkside 5 (99 total homes, including 37 public housing units and 28 affordable rental units)
• Clybourn & Larrabee (first phase under detailed design and development)

More information about Cabrini Now is available at thecha.org/cabrininow.

From the San Diego Housing Commission's press release:

A newly opened affordable rental housing development for seniors, built in collaboration with the San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC), provides Marian a home she can afford after years of housing instability, including most recently living in a homelessness shelter despite having a job.

“I paid into Social Security since the time I was 18 years old,” said Marian, one of the first residents of Puesta del Sol in Linda Vista and a former Department of Defense and retail employee. “I thought I had it made, then inflation happened. As it turns out, I didn’t have enough money to rent an apartment on fixed income.”

Now, Marian is confident she’ll be able to stay in San Diego at Puesta del Sol.

Developed by Community HousingWorks in collaboration with SDHC and additional partners, Puesta del Sol consists of 59 one-bedroom apartments for seniors ages 55 and older with low- and very-low incomes, including six units set aside for seniors who previously experienced homelessness, like Marian.

“We’re working on every facet of this challenge to try and make sure that folks who are willing to work hard, who want to be a part of the community, can live in this community, and that’s not currently a given, but we’re going to keep working until that is a given,” San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said at Puesta del Sol’s grand opening today.

The opening of Puesta del Sol, which means “sunset” in Spanish, marks the culmination of a larger intergenerational infill development, together with Amanecer (or “sunrise”), an adjacent development in collaboration with SDHC that opened last year with 95 rental apartments for families with low income, transition-age youth and veterans who experienced homelessness.

“It’s great to see projects like this. It was an intentional thing that was done by Community HousingWorks, to say: Let’s have families there, and then let’s have seniors right here on this block. And that is really, really important,” said San Diego City Councilmember Raul Campillo, whose Council District 7 includes the Linda Vista site where Puesta del Sol was built.

SDHC awarded 59 federal rental housing vouchers to Puesta del Sol that will help the residents pay rent. When a tenant moves out, the housing voucher remains with Puesta del Sol to help to assist a new resident.

“It is fantastic to see a project that is specifically designed to serve seniors and has made space for formerly homeless seniors,” SDHC Vice Chair of the Board Ryan Clumpner said. “For 59 senior households, Puesta del Sol provides a peace of mind and stability of having rental home that they can afford in their golden years.”

In addition, SDHC awarded a loan of more than $4 million toward the development. The loan consisted of resources from the City of San Diego’s Affordable Housing Fund, which SDHC administers.

The apartments at Puesta del Sol will serve seniors earning 30 percent to 60 percent of San Diego’s Area Median Income, currently $36,400 to $72,720 per year for a two-person household. It also includes one manager’s unit.

“We pride ourselves on making quality, affordable places for people to call home, not just to live but truly to prosper,” Community HousingWorks President & CEO Sean Spear said. “Much of that is really focused on our efforts around providing the right types of housing that are needed in our communities.”

Puesta del Sol consists of a three-story, L-shaped building with a courtyard that includes a community garden, outdoor fitness equipment, a swing and a barbecue/picnic area. The development also includes a trail along the perimeter of the site to encourage residents to walk.

Amenities at Puesta del Sol include a multipurpose community room with kitchen, computer lab, roof top terrace, centralized laundry room, management leasing office and conference room. A resident reading room and n upper-level terrace provide additional common areas for residents.

Puesta del Sol is conveniently located near well-served transit stops, employment, shopping centers, Linda Vista Community Park, a recreation center, library, schools and a full-service grocery store.

Earlier this month, the Oklahoma City Housing Authority (OCHA) was honored to welcome several HUD staff to tour OCHA properties. HUD guests included Richard Monocchio, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Public and Indian Housing; Candace Valenzuela, Regional Administrator, Region VI; Sharon Gordon-Ribiero, Field Office Director, OKC; Leslie Bradley, Deputy Regional Administrator; and Greg Jungman, Director of Public Housing, Oklahoma.

The group toured the John H. Johnson affordable assisted living community and Will Rogers Courts family housing development.

From HUD's press release:

Last week, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Terner Labs cohosted an event in Detroit, Michigan, uniting leaders from the public sector, housing experts, researchers, and technologists for the third iteration of their Housing & Technology Symposium series. HUD leaders also traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota to highlight innovative affordable housing partnerships.

“These are a first-of-its-kind innovations that leverage both HUD funding and modular housing construction – a technology that PD&R and HUD are eager to help scale – to create high-quality affordable housing that is sustainable, energy-efficient, and well-integrated into the surrounding neighborhood,” said Solomon Greene, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research. “It leverages so many innovations all at once – including Minneapolis first-in-the-nation comprehensive zoning reforms – to better serve communities.”

The visits were the first in HUD’s “Road to Innovation” tour series, led by the Office of Policy Development & Research (PD&R), where HUD leaders will travel around the country to uplift examples of investment in innovative construction techniques boosting affordable housing supply. The partnership with Terner Labs, announced by HUD’s former Secretary Marcia L. Fudge in 2023, aligns with the Biden-Harris administration’s Investing in America Agenda and the Administration’s housing supply action plan, offering enhanced access to funding and resources.

The Detroit event explored the use of technology to promote homeownership and wealth-building for Black Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, particularly in the Midwest. Technology and development experts presented demonstrations on credit repair and policy tools, offering valuable insights into the homebuying process. Solomon Greene, HUD’s Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Office of PD&R, alongside HUD Great Lakes Regional Administrator Diane Shelley, emphasized the importance of encouraging investment in homeownership assistance.

“HUD is deeply committed to expanding housing and community development, with a steadfast focus on creating equitable, inclusive communities and ensuring quality, affordable homes for all individuals and families,” said Great Lakes Regional Administrator Diane Shelley.

In Minneapolis, HUD leaders explored the city’s most innovative public housing initiatives. The officials toured several sites, including one of Minneapolis Public Housing Authorities’ (MPHA) sixteen Family Housing Expansion Program (FHEP) “scattered sites,” strategically located to foster community growth while meeting the cities affordability goals. Taking advantage of HUD’s Moving to Work (MTW) flexibilities and project-based vouchers, the FHEP projects have added 84 units of affordable family housing to MPHA’s stock using modular construction techniques and 16 solar roof arrays, increasing housing accessibility in a growing community. The tour concluded at Miro Apartments, showcasing a modular approach, affordable units, Opportunity Zone funds, and a large solar roof array, all contributing to housing accessibility in a growing neighborhood.

The “Road to Innovation” tours will culminate in Washington, DC with HUD’s 2024 Innovative Housing Showcase slated for June 7th through 9th on the National Mall. The showcase is a public event during which leading homebuilders, technologists, and designers will show their cutting-edge approaches to increase housing supply, lower construction costs, increase energy efficiency, and reduce housing expenses.