CHICAGO —Today, Mayor Brandon Johnson joined Ald. Jeannette Taylor, Department of Housing Commissioner Lissette Castañeda, the Chicago Community Trust, Caledon Partners, the Blackwood Group, and new residents to cut the ribbon on the newly completed United Yards 1A 100% affordable housing development at 4703 S.
Justine St. in Back of the Yards.
Bringing 51 new affordable homes and community resources to the neighborhood, the City-backed project near the corner of W 47th St. and S.
Ashland Ave. is just the latest affordable housing investment to come online through Mayor Johnson’s Build Better Together initiative.
“Every member of the Back of the Yards community deserves to live in a neighborhood where working families can afford to put down roots, raise a family, and build generational wealth,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson. “I am committed to making that vision a reality for every Chicagoan by making unprecedented investments in new affordable homes alongside the parks, local businesses, mental health services, and fully funded public schools that make a city a community where families can grow and thrive.
We’ll continue cutting ribbons and driving economic revitalization on every side of our city, because every neighborhood deserves to see its fair share of investment.”
Led by Celadon Partners, LLC and Blackwood Development Partners, LLC United Yards 1A is the second of three phases of the broader United Yards development that is bringing new investment to formerly vacant and underdeveloped spaces in Back of the Yard.
“This milestone reflects years of collaboration among community stakeholders and our public and private partners to create a development that responds to neighborhood priorities,” said Jose Duarte of Blackwood Group.
In addition to offering affordable homes that support community members, the completed project also houses retail space designed with local businesses in mind and community resource facilities including a technology training and business support center targeting entrepreneurial youth.
“Our diverse and local team is incredibly proud to celebrate the completion of United Yards 1A and to bring long-awaited, high-quality housing to the Back of the Yards,” said Aron Weisner of Celadon Partners. “We are very grateful for our partners within the City of Chicago and the 20th Ward for standing with us through this process.”
The development includes 17 one-bedroom, 19 two-bedroom, and 15 three-bedroom homes serving households earning between 15 and 80% of Area Median Income.
Twelve units are supported by the Chicago Low-Income Housing Trust Fund to serve households at 15 and 30 percent AMI.
The City supported the $46 million project by providing up to $25 million in tax-exempt bonds, approximately $14.5 million in TIF funds, and Chicago Recovery Plan resources.
“This is for the grocery store worker, at El Guero on 47th.
This is for the worker taking your order at S2 Grill on Halsted. It’s for the bus aides at Hamline Elementary School,” saidDOH Commissioner Lissette Castañeda. “This project ensures that, even as we grow our community, those workers who call this neighborhood home will not get left behind.”
Through his historic $1.25B Housing and Economic Development Bond, Mayor Johnson remains committed to delivering more affordable homes and supporting projects that drive greater economic vitality in communities across Chicago.
In tandem with other funding mechanisms, the Johnson administration’s investments have already put Chicago on track to see 1만 newly built or rehabilitated affordable homes completed by the end of Mayor Johnson’s first term.
As Chicagoans have ranked housing affordability as theirtop concern, the Johnson administration has put the construction of a larger, more diverse housing stock and thousands of new affordable homes at the center of its strategy to make Chicago more affordable for working people.
Accordingly, the administration has continuously invested in an array of innovative housing models designed to expand affordability while giving Chicagoans greater options for where and how they live.
Through the Missing Middle Housing initiative, the Johnson administration is supporting the development of neighborhood-scale, multi-unit homes on the South and West Sides, while the groundbreaking Green Social Housing Fund creates a sustainable funding mechanism to produce large-scale affordable housing projects.
Together, these investments are expanding Chicago’s housing stock while putting affordability, stability, and long-term community well-being at the forefront of developmental priorities.