Habitat and Partners Break Ground on LeClaire Courts Redevelopment
A long-awaited transformation is officially underway on Chicago’s Southwest Side.
Habitat and Cabrera Capital, in partnership with the Chicago Housing Authority, City of Chicago and other public and private partners, celebrated the groundbreaking of the first residential phase of the LeClaire Courts redevelopment on October 13.
The milestone marks the beginning of a new chapter for the 32-acre former public housing site in Chicago’s Garfield Ridge community. Once complete, the multiphase redevelopment is planned to bring up to 700 new residences, approximately 440,000 square feet of commercial space and publicly accessible open space to the neighborhood.
“Today we break ground on a transformative project many years in the making to begin a new chapter for LeClaire Courts and the Southwest Side,” said Matt Fiascone, president of Habitat. “Together with our public and private partners, we are creating a mixed-income, mixed-use neighborhood that will provide not just high-quality housing, but also many of the essential services people need, such as access to childcare, future healthcare and retail options, new employment opportunities and welcoming public spaces.”
Building the First 183 Homes
The first phase will include two six-story mixed-use buildings along Cicero Avenue between 44th and 45th Streets, with 183 apartments ranging from studios to three-bedroom homes.
Ninety percent of the residences will be designated as affordable through income and rent restrictions for qualifying low- and moderate-income residents, with the remaining homes offered at market rate.
The $119 million first phase represents a significant public-private investment in the neighborhood, bringing together Habitat, Cabrera Capital, the Chicago Housing Authority, City of Chicago, Bank of America and other partners.
“LeClaire Courts represents the kind of development that can strengthen a community well beyond the boundaries of a single site,” said Martin Cabrera, founder and CEO of Cabrera Capital. “This development will serve as an economic engine to stimulate affordable and mixed-income housing, early childhood education, and neighborhood services.”
More Than Housing
The vision for LeClaire Courts extends beyond new residences.
The first phase will include a 14,000-square-foot early childhood education center operated by Chicago Commons, providing early learning opportunities for more than 100 children and creating an anticipated 30 to 40 living-wage jobs.
Additional amenities will include fitness centers, community rooms, resident services space, bicycle storage, package rooms, playgrounds and landscaped gathering areas, along with ground-floor retail space.
Infrastructure improvements are also underway throughout the site, including street realignment, utility upgrades, new sidewalks and ADA-accessible pathways, lighting enhancements and traffic improvements.
The initial residential phase was designed by SCB, with George Sollitt Construction Co. serving as general contractor. Construction is expected to be completed in 2028.
A New Neighborhood Takes Shape
Future phases are envisioned to bring additional mixed-income multifamily housing, family-friendly townhome-style residences, senior housing, retail and commercial development, healthcare services and additional open space.
For Habitat, LeClaire Courts also represents another major step in its continued work to create large-scale mixed-income and affordable communities.
The development joins other major Habitat-led initiatives, including 43 Green in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood, Ogden Commons in North Lawndale and the multiphase redevelopment of Marine Drive Apartments along Buffalo, New York’s waterfront.
After years of planning and partnership, the groundbreaking marks the point when the vision for LeClaire Courts begins taking physical shape.
“We are proud to begin the physical work of turning this site into a community that residents will be excited to call home for generations to come,” Fiascone said.
