Current Projects

Abrams Intergenerational Village

JCUA awarded $200,000 to The Renaissance Collaborative (TRC) to support the development of Abrams Intergenerational Village, a vibrant permanent supportive housing facility for seniors, young adults enrolled in secondary education, and grand-families. The site at 5300-5318 S. Calumet in Bronzeville/Washington Park will include 71 units affordable at 30-60% AMI. The Abrams Intergenerational Village concept is intended to provide housing that is sensitively designed to allow aging adults to effectively raise children collaboratively in an intergenerational setting.

Here to Stay Community Land Trust

JCUA awarded a $130,000 loan to Here to Stay (HTS) Community Land Trust to transform a vacant lot at 2638 W. Cortland Ave into 6 units of high-quality, sustainably constructed, permanently affordable housing in Logan Square. Community land trusts offer a flexible and innovative approach to community development and affordable housing by ensuring long-term affordability through a unique ownership structure where the trust owns the land and individuals own the buildings. The lot on Cortland was donated to HTS by a neighborhood resident and units will be sold to households at 60-80% AMI.

Humboldt Park United Methodist Church

JCUA awarded a $200,000 loan to LUCHA for the redevelopment of housing units at the former Humboldt Park United Methodist Church (HPUMC) in Logan Square. Currently, the property contains 12 apartments which serve low- and very-low-income renters. LUCHA plans to rehabilitate the existing 12 apartments and convert the church sanctuary into an additional 10 units of affordable housing. The partnership between LUCHA and HPUMC aims to prevent further displacement in gentrified Logan Square.

IMAN Health Center

JCUA awarded a $200,000 loan to Inner-City Muslim Action Network (IMAN) to cover predevelopment costs associated with the expansion of IMAN’s Federally Qualified Health Center in Chicago Lawn. The IMAN Health Center fosters access to comprehensive, culturally competent, quality health care services for low-income individuals in the service area regardless of age, health status, ability to pay, or any other characteristic. When complete, the expanded Health Center facility will grow from 3,400 to 23,400 square feet and allow IMAN to offer fully integrated primary care, behavioral health, and wraparound services. The new facility will also include a critical community gathering space for local organizations and members of the broader community.

Janet L. Smith Apartments

JCUA awarded a $75,000 loan to Interfaith Housing Development Corp. (IHDC) for the West Pullman Apartments. The loan will cover predevelopment costs for 39 units of permanent supportive housing. This development will serve families who were formerly homeless, many of whom have household members with disabilities. The Smith development will meet all Passive Home requirements, meaning that its airtight design will decrease the building’s reliance on fossil fuels. This is CVP’s first project in West Pullman.

JumpStart Housing Cooperative

JCUA awarded a $200,000 acquisition loan to JumpStart Housing Cooperative to purchase a building in Bronzeville as part of the first phase of a multi-site affordable housing cooperative. Using a co-ownership model, JumpStart serves Chicagoans with barriers to housing security — formerly incarcerated individuals, domestic violence survivors, and individuals aging out of the foster system. JumpStart will provide membership opportunities to households earning 60% AMI or below. During the first phase, the co-op will purchase a multifamily building to meet the immediate housing needs of ChiFresh Kitchen members (worker-owners) and their network.

Pilsen Housing Cooperative

JCUA awarded a $100,000 loan to Pilsen Housing Cooperative (PIHCO) – a limited-equity, scattered-site housing cooperative for longtime residents of the Pilsen community – to cover predevelopment costs associated with the expansion of the cooperative to two new properties in the neighborhood, 1716 S. Morgan and 18th & Peoria. PIHCO is currently comprised of 18 households across 3 buildings, and is working to counter displacement and maintain the long-term affordability of housing in Pilsen through these expansions.

SACRED Apartments

JCUA awarded a $100,000 loan to Interfaith Housing Development Corp. (IHDC) and Claretian Associates for SACRED Apartments. The loan will cover predevelopment costs associated with the construction of 81 units of affordable housing and 6,000 square feet of commercial rental space in the South Chicago Neighborhood of Chicago. SACRED Apartments – which stands for Sustainable Affordable Commercial Real Estate Development – will achieve Enterprise Green Community certification.

Saint Leonard’s and Grace House

JCUA awarded a $100,000 loan to Saint Leonard’s Ministries for the renovation of Saint Leonard’s House and Grace House, transitional housing programs in Chicago’s Near West Side neighborhood that serve individuals recently released from incarceration. The renovation will rehabilitate three buildings and convert the rooms from dormitory style to 53 individual units, which will provide residents with nine to twelve months of housing, case management, basic needs, life skills training, physical and mental health support, and substance use treatment.

Villa Guadalupe

JCUA awarded a $200,000 loan to Claretian Associates to cover predevelopment costs associated with the renovation of 53 units of affordable housing, including 47 permanent supportive housing units, in South Chicago. The facility largely serves extremely low-income senior households at-risk of homelessness and provides a variety of social services in addition to the housing.

The Write Inn

JCUA awarded Housing Forward with a $200,000 loan to cover the predevelopment costs associated with the development of a 65-unit interim housing and medical respite center in Oak Park, Illinois called the Write Inn. Each year, Housing Forward assists 2,000 individuals and families each year with services that are tailored to their immediate needs. The building requires capital updates and improvements including a new roof, new windows, external façade repair, as well as interior modifications to redevelop the property as a fixed site permanent shelter.