When the Cook County Land Bank Authority took ownership of a South Yale Avenue home in Roseland, the lot was overgrown and the home’s decks were dilapidated.
The home is now unrecognizable, with a fresh coat of white paint, black trim and a gut rehab. It’ll be on the market next week at an asking price of $249,000 — far below Chicago’s median sale price of $410,000 and more affordable for families in the South Side community.
City officials and neighbors joined developer Luis Castro of USA Roofing Supply at the home on Friday for a ribbon cutting ceremony and tour. Castro acquired the land from the Cook County Land Bank — like he’s done with dozens of other properties he’s developed across the South and West sides.
“We have a home that a homeowner is going to come back to,” Castro said. “We’re putting Roseland back on the map, [and] we’re showing that people do want to live here.”
The three-bedroom home has a basement with an additional bedroom, bathroom and laundry room. It has an open concept main floor that leads onto an outdoor deck, plus a yard and detached garage.
More rehabbed homes will soon follow as part of Rebuild Chicago 2.0, an expansion of the city’s Rebuild program that targets abandoned homes so they can take on a second life. The program identifies homes that can be acquired, rehabbed and sold to create homeownership opportunities in South and West sides, which have experienced disinvestment.
The program is focused on Roseland and Englewood, and it will support the rehab of 33 homes. Another home is being rehabbed about four blocks away from the South Yale property.
A $20 million grant from the Illinois Housing Development Authority fueled the program’s expansion. The funds are being administered by the Chicago Community Loan Fund and Greenwood Archer Capital, both of which are community development financial institutions. Greenwood Archer is providing financing to help cover additional acquisition and renovation costs.
Terrence Johnson, executive director of Greenwood Archer, said the lender is currently working with three developers. With its connections as a community lender, Greenwood Archer plans to find potential buyers for the newly rehabbed homes, Johnson said.
“[Greenwood Archer] is also about community, which is exactly what the Rebuild 2.0 program is about,” he said. “It’s about revitalizing and uplifting communities.”
Cook County Land Bank Authority Executive Director Jessica Caffrey (left), Chicago Department of Housing Commissioner Lissette Castañeda, Greenwood Archer Capital Executive Director Terrence Johnson, developer Luis and Marsha Castro during a ribbon cutting ceremony.
Arthur Maiorella/For the Sun-Times
Rebuild 2.0 helps offset acquisition and rehabilitation costs, which makes the projects more financially viable and keeps homes affordable, according to Greenwood Archer. The future buyer of the South Yale home will spend little to no money toward a down payment because of the land bank’s equity fund program, which gives homebuyers up to $20,000 in down payment assistance.
The private-public partnership of Rebuild Chicago 2.0 is key to its success, Castro said.
“We need to work together as a community,” Castro said. “We need more programs such as Rebuild 2.0. We need more visionaries … who [will] take the bull by the horn and make everything a success.”
Department of Housing Commissioner Lissette Castañeda said programs like Rebuild 2.0 piggyback off other city programs, like the Missing Middle initiative. The program similarly targets vacant lots on the South and West sides for new homes that are priced affordably.
“It’s the continuous investment back into communities that have not seen investment, and there’s many ways to go about it,” Castañeda said. “The Missing Middle is building on vacant land, and we’re saying also there’s these properties out there that can be rehabbed into something really beautiful that will be a benefit to a family someday.”