The Chicago Department of Planning and Development has tapped six development teams to build more than 100 units of housing across the South and West sides. It’s the latest push in a city-led initiative to build more housing that’s affordable for middle-class families.
The teams, which were announced last week, expand the city’s Missing Middle Infill Housing initiative into three South Side neighborhoods, and the projects range from $3.7 million to $8.8 million. The program aims to turn vacant city land into housing for working middle-class families, repopulating areas where families have left after being priced out.
The city sells the vacant lots to developers for $1 and once built, the homes must be priced at market rate.
“Missing middle” refers to the hole in the center of a housing supply that often includes more low- and high-density properties like single-family homes and high-rise apartments. Units in the second round of the program will range from townhomes to six-flats.
Between the six development teams, 30 multi-unit buildings with 108 total units will be built, according to the planning department.
“Market rate housing construction is essential to DPD’s neighborhood repopulation and wealth-building goals, so we’re thrilled to announce another six development teams that will create multiple new housing types for buyers and renters,” Planning Commissioner Ciere Boatright said in a news release.
Launched in fall 2024, the Missing Middle Infill Housing program began with 40 vacant lots in the West Side neighborhood of North Lawndale, which will be developed into more than 100 housing units. The department opened applications for the second round of the program in April, with 54 lots in Chatham, South Chicago and Morgan Park on the South Side.
The six teams were chosen from a pool of 38 applicants. Each winning team was awarded a “cluster” of four to six vacant lots. In addition to selling the lots for $1, the city may award developers up to $150,000 per unit to help with construction costs. Once complete, owner-occupants can purchase entire buildings and lease the remaining units to renters, according to the planning department.
Far South Community Development Corp. was among the six teams selected for the program’s second round. The corporation applied for all five clusters in Morgan Park and was awarded a group of lots that includes 10726-34 S. Loomis St. and 10826 S. Bishop St.
Far South CDC plans to build four six-flats, investing $7.8 million.
Abraham Lacy, president of Far South CDC, said the corporation will meet with residents and examine neighborhood dynamics before deciding if the buildings will be apartments or condos.
Still, Lacy said there aren’t enough two-flats or buildings with more than two units in Morgan Park to strike a “healthy balance.”
He also said Morgan Park is a neighborhood where someone can transition from a renter to homeowner, compared to neighborhoods like Hyde Park and Edgewater where homes can be pricier. Missing middle housing where an owner-occupier can rent out the rest of the building’s units can help with wealth-building and the transition to homeownership.
“This is a place where we want to create a destination for people to live and work and play,” Lacy said. “Missing middle helps facilitate that to where … it’s not just a place to come into and move on once things go well for you, but it’s a place for you to come into and say, ‘This is where I’m going to plant my roots and be able to generate the wealth that my family has been working on.’”
Lacy said the city wants to move fast. He anticipates breaking ground in the spring, with units being available in the first half of 2027.
Project Simeon 2000, a nonprofit group formed by Simeon Career Academy alumni, was also selected for the program. The group’s $3.7 million project will create four three-flats in West Chatham, according to the planning department.
“Project Simeon 2000 is honored to be among the organizations selected for the Missing Middle Initiative,” the Rev. Joaquin K. Barry, who serves as a program manager at the nonprofit, said in a statement to the Chicago Sun-Times. “This new project will bring together businesses, nonprofits, community members and young people. We are ready to get started.”
Other developers include Famor, a Chicago limited liability corporation registered to Latrese Williams; NHS Redevelopment Corp., a West Loop-based nonprofit that buys, rehabs and sells homes; Toro Construction Corp., an Orland Park-based general contractor, and Superior Source Capital, a mortgage brokerage firm in Chicago.