City expands ‘Parade of Homes’ initiative to vacant lots in North Lawndale

Chicago city planners are hoping to continue the success of Bronzeville’s “Parade of Homes” program by bringing the initiative to the West Side neighborhood of North Lawndale. Under the plan, 43 vacant lots near the western edge of Douglas Park would be redeveloped into market-rate homes.

The city’s Department of Planning & Development (DPD) issued a request for applications from qualified developers earlier this month. Once responses are received by the November 5 deadline, planners will select up to five homebuilders to participate in the program. The firms are required to design, construct, market, and sell the new single-family structures.

City of Chicago

The homes must be priced at a level that is affordable for families making 120 percent of the area median income (AMI). Eligible buyers must not exceed 140 percent of the AMI and will be required to use their Lawndale property as a primary legal residence.

The Parade of Homes project will offer developers vacant city-owned properties for as little as $1 through the City Lots for Working Families program. The non-contiguous parcels are scattered among existing North Lawndale houses to better integrate them with the community and stimulate future investment in the West Side neighborhood.

The 24th Ward Parade of Homes program isn’t the only exciting development headed to the area. Discussions continue regarding plans for the large mixed-use Ogden Commons project located just north of Mt. Sinai Hospital. This spring, North Lawndale residents assembled to weigh-in on the community’s first comprehensive development plan in five decades.

• North Lawndale Parade of Homes Request for Applications [City of Chicago]
• See the single-family homes filling Bronzeville’s vacant lots [Curbed Chicago]
• Bronzeville’s ‘Parade of Homes’ will bring 42 market-rate homes to vacant lots [Curbed Chicago]