Humboldt Park low-income housing co-op named nation’s “most impressive”

The 18 new buildings on 31 formerly vacant lots that make up the Harold Washington Unity Cooperative [PDF] in southeast Humboldt Park are many things to the residents of the community.

They are a sign of urban renewal in a once-blighted area. They offer low-income residents an opportunity to own property. And their construction provided jobs and training for area workers.

Now, the 87 single-family units developed by the Bickerdike Redevelopment Corp. are something else - award winners.

On Oct. 19, the Fannie Mae Foundation presented its top 2006 Maxwell Award of Excellence to Bickerdike for the creation of the co-op. Bickerdike won for Most Impressive Overall Housing Benefit, which comes with a $50,000 grant for further low-income housing work.

According to its press release [PDF], the Fannie Mae Foundation partnered with the National Vacant Properties Campaign to focus on "outstanding development of affordable housing while reclaiming vacant properties." A representative from the foundation said Bickerdike was given the award based on its creativity in addressing local housing needs and the quality of its design, among other factors.

Chrissie Richards, resource development manager with Bickerdike, said the corporation beat about 70 other applicants for the award. She said those who worked on the project were thrilled by the honor.

"We were so excited to receive the award," she said. "We feel it's a really great project and there was so much community support for it, and it's really wonderful to have that recognized."

Pete Landon, president of Landon Bone Baker, the architectural firm that designed the co-op, said the award shows it is possible to make low-income housing that also looks good.

Landon said he is also proud of the impact the buildings are having on the community. He said community redevelopment shows a commitment to an area, which helps "deal with the bad spots."

"There was a lot of drug activity on the corner when we were out there looking at the site," Landon said. "Even during construction, it took the gangs a little while to go away. But then they did, and I think it's had a pretty significant effect on the area."

But getting the co-op off the ground and winning the award did not come easily for Bickerdike. The idea for the co-op, which sits on four square blocks bounded by Chicago Avenue, Albany Avenue, Ohio Street and Kedzie Avenue, was hatched about 10 years ago and two miles away.

According to Richards, a number of West Town families came together in the 1990s to find affordable housing in that area. Bickerdike began to lay the groundwork for a site, but the project ran into fierce opposition from a local alderman.

While working " successfully " to have the alderman voted out, the community groups searched for alternative sites. They found an ally in Ald. Walter Burnett (27^th), Richards said, because his ward had a lot of vacant land. Bickerdike's subsidiary, the Humboldt Construction Co., finally broke ground on the project in 2003, and the co-op had its grand opening in 2005.

According to Landon, one of the best things about the project is how it respects the architectural character of the neighborhood. As an example, Landon said his firm designed two-flat buildings " as opposed to the standard three-flat " for streets that had smaller existing housing, so the new construction wouldn't stand out.

Manwhile, Richards said one of the main benefits of the co-op to area residents is that it offers affordable housing for those making between $18,000 and $40,000 per year. It also gives residents an ownership share, instead of renting.

Richards also pointed to Humboldt Construction as a community development initiative that accompanied the co-op. The company employed community residents to work on construction, according to its business manager, Nelson Robles.

"Bickerdike's mission isn't just to develop affordable housing, but also bring in the neighborhood people to actually work on these projects," Robles said. "Through Humboldt Construction we have been able to place local residents in the carpenters union and hire them to work on these projects."

Ultimately, Richards said, the most important thing is that community members liked the building's final design.

"People in the community were really surprised at how beautiful it was," she said. "They were lining up for blocks to put in an application to live in the housing."