Affordable Housing Development May Be Coming to Howard Street
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Preliminary plans are in the works for an all-affordable multifamily housing development at the northeast corner of Howard and Paulina Streets. The developer is Housing For All, LLC, which brings together the expertise of several real estate professionals with varied backgrounds and specializations.
Shelly Tucciarelli is one of the team of professionals looking to make this plan happen. Ms. Tucciarelli worked for many years at the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA), including twelve years in the Low Income Housing Tax Credit group and several years as tax credit department head.
Preliminary plans are in the works for an all-affordable multifamily housing development at the northeast corner of Howard and Paulina Streets.
Ms. Tucciarelli is also a member of the Oneida Nation and Executive Director of Visionary Ventures, a non-profit group dedicated to fostering “the creation and preservation of low and moderate-income housing for Native American and underserved communities in the Chicagoland area.” Visionary Ventures and Housing For All are currently working on two other affordable housing projects: 2907 W. Irving Park Road in Chicago and the Fox Valley Apartments in suburban Aurora. The Chicago property will focus on low and moderate-income households from Chicago’s large and underserved Native American community. The Fox Valley property is a historic rehab of a former elementary school into 47 units of workforce housing.
In Rogers Park, Housing For All is proposing a two-phase project that will redevelop an underutilized block on Howard Street with 110 units of housing affordable to households earning no more than 60% of the area median income (AMI). The ground floor would combine commercial space with building administrative and amenity spaces. Upper floors would be residential. The site is currently improved with a mix of surface parking lots and older commercial buildings, including the Werner Building which houses a US Post Office branch on its first floor.
Housing For All is proposing a two-phase project that will redevelop an underutilized block on Howard Street with 110 units of housing affordable to households earning no more than 60% of the area median income (AMI).
The first phase of the project will be built on the south half of the site, from Howard Street up to, but not including, the Werner Building. This phase will contain 55 units of affordable housing. The developers hope to relocate the Post Office from the Werner Building to new commercial space in the phase one building. The second phase would redevelop the north half of the site, including the Werner Building, adding 55 more units and other ground floor uses.
Ms. Tucciarelli says that it will probably not be possible to preserve the Werner Building due to low ceilings in this structure and other cost concerns. However, it may be possible to preserve the Werner Building façade, pending further cost review.
Shelly Tucciarelli
Because the property will be located across Paulina Street from the Red Line Howard Street station, it will qualify for Transit Oriented Development (TOD) benefits, including reduced parking which will lower overall development costs.
Before any of this can happen, Housing For All is seeking 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credits from IHDA and other “soft money” (HOME Funds, Low-Income Housing Trust Fund, etc.) from both IHDA and the City of Chicago that will be needed to fully fund this project. According to Ms. Tucciarelli, discussions with IHDA have already begun and the tax credit application will be made in February 2023. IHDA will announce the winning applications in May of 2023 with full IHDA Board Approval scheduled for June.
Before any of this can happen, Housing For All is seeking 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credits from IHDA. Of course, 9% tax credits are highly competitive and there is no certainty that any given project will get IHDA’s approval.
With tax credit approval, Housing For All can focus on procuring project financing. Assuming the tax credit application and financing process all go as planned, construction of phase one could begin in late 2023 or early 2024.
Of course, 9% tax credits are highly competitive and there is no certainty that any given project will get IHDA’s approval to move forward. Even if it does, such projects typically require additional soft money to fully fund all of the hard and soft costs for these developments.
In the event that the 9% tax credit application is not approved, Ms. Tucciarelli said that her development team could also try to make this development work with 4% tax credits which are easier to get, but which generate less equity. As a result, a 4% deal would require even more soft money to finance the development.
If approved, it could represent a significant new housing development for the neighborhood and bring much-needed affordable housing to the area.
While the approval of the Howard Street development is not a foregone conclusion, the Housing For All team does bring considerable expertise to the table. In addition to Ms. Tucciarelli and her deep familiarity with IHDA, the development team includes individuals with expertise in a variety of disciplines that will be necessary to bring this project to fruition, including real estate development and legal expertise, and familiarity with tax credits and other government housing programs. Also, the Howard Street location would appear to be a good candidate for this type of investment and may score better than competing projects for the benefits it will bring to the North Rogers Park area.
We will certainly keep a close eye on this project as it makes its way through the application process. If approved, it could represent a significant new housing development for the neighborhood and bring much-needed affordable housing to the area.
We wish Ms. Tucciarelli success in her efforts and will monitor progress of these plans as they move forward.
