Supportive housing development for young adults, families heads to Humboldt Park

A new five-story, supportive housing facility is on its way to Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood. Located at 3527 W. North Avenue, the project will provide 25 housing units for at-risk or recently homeless young adults or families with children that earn no more than 30 percent of the area median income. Dubbed the “Pierce House,” the project comes from La Casa Norte, a local nonprofit group that has served at-risk youths and families in Humboldt Park since 2002.

More than simply a housing project, the multi-use building will also feature administrative offices, meeting rooms, an art gallery, teen center, food pantry, teaching kitchen, adult education space, and a wellness clinic from partner Howard Brown Health. The $18 million facility is funded through $3.5 million in TIF assistance, a $4 million loan, various tax credits, and more than $6 million in private donations.

Landon Bone Baker Architects

Penned by Chicago-based Landon Bone Baker Architects, the project was designed with sustainability and “dignity” as paramount priorities. As La Casa Norte founding executive director Sol Flores recently told Next City, “I have had to defend that aesthetic for many years when I was showing our plans to donors, to planners including public planners, and they’ve said ‘wow, why does it have to look so nice?’ Or ‘that’s a really expensive curtain wall.’”

Despite the doubters and the extra costs, dignity ultimately prevailed. The Humboldt Park project received a building permit from the City of Chicago on June 12th and has already started construction.

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• Designing Dignity in Housing for Chicago’s Most Vulnerable [Next City]
• New construction permit at 3527 W. North Avenue [Chicago Cityscape]
• Previous Humboldt Park coverage [Curbed Chicago]