April 7, 2017

Mayor Emanuel Breaks Ground on Affordable Senior Housing Community

McCrory Senior Apartments Will Add Affordable Housing and Create Jobs on the Near West Side

Mayor's Press Office    312.744.3334

Mayor Rahm Emanuel today joined Alderman Walter Burnett, representatives from developer McCrory Senior Apartments LLC, and local residents to celebrate the groundbreaking for a new 62-unit affordable apartment building for seniors at 1637-59 W. Washington Blvd.

“The McCrory Senior Apartments are a win-win – they will turn a vacant lot into 62 affordable new homes while creating new jobs on the Near West Side of Chicago,” Mayor Emanuel said. “No matter what your income is or what neighborhood you live in, if you call Chicago home you should have a range of housing options to choose from.”

The $17.4 million McCrory Senior Apartments will include a mix of one- and two-bedroom units as well as a community room, fitness center, theater space, offices, laundry facilities and patio. All of the units in the five-story building will be available to seniors aged 62 years and older earning up to 60 percent of area median income, or a maximum of $36,960 for a two-person household.

Being developed in partnership with Brinshore Development and the First Baptist Congregational Church (FBCC), the project is part of the City’s “Five-Year Housing Plan” to commit $1.3 billion in public and private funds to build, rehabilitate or preserve 41,000 units of affordable housing by the end of 2018

City financial support includes up to $4.1 million in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) assistance coordinated by the Department of Planning and Development. Additionally, a quarter acre of City-owned land valued at $697,000 was provided for the project for $1.

Project funding will also include $13 million in Low Income Housing Tax Credits and donations tax credit equity from the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) and $600,000 from the Federal Home Loan Bank.

The complex is named after FBCC’s founding pastor the Rev. Henry McCrory.

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