Pilsen nonprofit developer proposes smaller, five-story apartment building

Citing residents’ concerns over density, a prominent Pilsen nonprofit developer has shrunk the size of its new affordable apartment building in the heart of the neighborhood.

The Resurrection Project is now planning to build a five-story, 37-unit building on the northwest corner of 19th Street and Racine Avenue.

The building will feature 13 one-bedroom units, 16 two-bedrooms and eight three-bedrooms with 31 parking spots. The units will be available to people earning up to $58,000 a year. Rents will range from $438 to $914 a month.

The building’s facade has also changed, going from a shade of light blue to orange and dark hues to match the century-old brick buildings nearby.

In July, The Resurrection Project proposed a six-story, 45-unit apartment building with 20 one-bedroom apartments, 20 two-bedrooms and five three-bedrooms. Residents voiced concerns over the size of the project at two public meetings hosted by the nonprofit.

The nonprofit announced the changes at a public meeting Wednesday in the neighborhood.

“We took everyone’s feedback from the meetings and looked to balance those interests,” said Veronica Gonzalez, The Resurrection Project’s vice president of real estate development. “Aside from density concerns, people were also concerned about the number of three-bedroom units in the original proposal.”

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First-year Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez celebrated the proposal changes as a victory for inclusive community development.

“There’s certainly a new norm in the 25th Ward where development isn’t pushed down on the community, but instead decisions are vetted and modified based on community feedback,” he said in a statement.

The site is occupied by a vacant, single-story building and a large parking lot. The Resurrection Project bought the property in 2018 for $1 million from Patrick Heneghan, president of Heneghan Wrecking, county records show.

The Resurrection Project — which owns and manages several affordable apartment buildings across the South and West sides — hopes to finance the $20 million project through affordable housing tax credits and with a “small mortgage,” Gonzalez said. The nonprofit plans to take the updated proposal to the Bureau of Zoning in October.

Gonzalez said the new design will prove harder to finance. “More units means you can spread your infrastructure costs across the board,” she said.

Still, Gonzalez believes opening up the process to the community is ultimately a win-win.

“Whenever the community speaks up and helps shape the development, it’s going to be better,” she said.

Carlos Ballesteros is a corps member in Report for America, a not-for-profit journalism program that aims to bolster Sun-Times coverage of Chicago’s South and West sides.