LeClaire Courts construction shifts Garfield Ridge site into a new housing phase

A long-vacant Garfield Ridge site has entered construction

The former LeClaire Courts public housing property in Chicago’s Garfield Ridge community has moved from redevelopment planning into physical construction. A groundbreaking held October 13, 2026, launched the first residential phase of a broader mixed-income, mixed-use plan for the 32-acre site.

The Chicago Housing Authority’s October project announcement says the property is bounded by Cicero Avenue, 45th Street, Lavergne Avenue and the Stevenson Expressway. The first work will replace a large vacant tract with two six-story mixed-use buildings, apartments, early childhood space and ground-floor commercial space.

The immediate construction milestone is significant because the former LeClaire Courts buildings were demolished in 2011. The redevelopment is therefore not simply an apartment project on an already occupied block. It is the first built portion of a neighborhood-scale effort to restore housing and other daily services to a site that has been open for about 15 years.

The project is being developed by The Habitat Company and Cabrera Capital Partners in partnership with CHA, the City of Chicago and other public and private participants. CHA describes the long-term concept as a new mixed-income, mixed-use community rather than a single apartment building or a stand-alone replacement structure.

What the first phase will add

The initial phase includes two six-story buildings along Cicero Avenue between 44th and 45th streets. CHA’s August financial-closing update identifies the buildings as LeClaire A-North and LeClaire A-South and lists addresses at 4809 W. 44th Street and 4442 S. Cicero Avenue.

Together, the buildings will contain 183 apartments. The planned floor plans include studios as well as one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, giving the first phase a range of unit sizes rather than a single compact format.

The affordability structure is central to the project. CHA’s closing announcement identifies 91 apartments supported through its project-based voucher program, 74 additional affordable apartments and 18 market-rate apartments. The agency’s later groundbreaking announcement describes 90% of the homes as affordable through income and rent restrictions supported by public financing for qualifying low- and moderate-income residents.

Those figures describe different parts of the same 183-home program. The 91 project-based-voucher apartments are tied to a CHA-supported affordability mechanism. The 74 other affordable apartments are also income-restricted, while the 18 market-rate apartments provide the smaller unrestricted portion of the first phase.

The buildings are planned as more than residential shells. The first phase will include a 14,000-square-foot early childhood education center operated by Chicago Commons and additional ground-floor retail space. CHA also lists fitness centers, community rooms, resident-services space, bicycle storage, package rooms, playgrounds, landscaped gathering areas and public-facing murals among the planned resident and site amenities.

For readers following the construction scope, the first phase currently has these defining elements:

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• Two six-story mixed-use buildings on Cicero Avenue.
• 183 apartments in studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom layouts.
• 91 CHA project-based-voucher apartments, 74 other affordable apartments and 18 market-rate apartments.
• A 14,000-square-foot early childhood education center operated by Chicago Commons.
• Additional ground-floor commercial space and on-site resident amenities.
• A target completion year of 2028.

The October announcement does not identify final retail tenants or provide a leasing launch date. It establishes the size and general use of the first-phase commercial space, but renters should wait for formal information from CHA, the development partners or the eventual property-management and service providers before relying on specific application or move-in details.

The $119 million financing structure

CHA reports a $119 million development cost for the first phase. The funding package combines housing-authority financing, city support, tax-credit equity and a deferred developer fee.

The capital stack includes a $27 million CHA capital loan, $9.5 million in city multifamily program funds, $5.5 million in tax-increment financing, $33.7 million in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity, $1.25 million in Illinois Affordable Housing Tax Credit equity and a $1.2 million deferred developer fee. CHA also identifies Bank of America and other mission-driven investment partners as participants in the financing structure.

The project’s financing helps explain why the construction timeline extended across several years of planning and approvals. Chicago Sun-Times reporting before the groundbreaking described the project as a heavily subsidized apartment development and reported that the earlier schedule had been affected by the pandemic, inflation and higher interest rates. The same September report identified the $119 million first phase, the two-building design and the planned 2028 finish.

For the public, the financing is relevant because the affordability commitments are attached to a specific development program. The public loans, city funds and tax-credit equity are not merely general neighborhood investments; they are part of the structure supporting apartments with rent and income restrictions. That connection gives the first phase a different housing role from a conventional market-rate apartment project.

The August closing was an important step before the October groundbreaking. CHA said at that time that construction was expected to begin in August 2026 and be completed in 2028. The later announcement documents the transition from financial closing to the public start of construction.

How the broader plan could change the site

The first 183 apartments are only the near-term deliverable. CHA says the full multiphase redevelopment could eventually include up to 700 residential units, approximately 440,000 square feet of commercial space and publicly accessible open space.

Future components listed by the housing authority include additional mixed-income multifamily buildings, family-oriented townhome-style residences, senior housing, retail and commercial development, healthcare services and more open space. These elements describe the broader redevelopment vision, not a promise that every later component will be built on the same schedule as the first two buildings.

The City of Chicago’s planned-development record provides additional context for that phased approach. A city development document identifies the LeClaire Courts property through addresses on Cicero Avenue, West 44th Street, West 45th Street, LaPorte Avenue and Lavergne Avenue. The document records the Plan Commission’s October 21, 2021 review and says the planned development was approved by City Council on November 17, 2021.

That city document also says the property’s development may be completed in phases and that future site-plan approval is required. In practical terms, the planned-development framework establishes a land-use and design structure for the larger property, while individual phases still move through their own detailed review and construction process.

Infrastructure work is part of the current redevelopment effort. CHA says improvements already underway include street realignment, utility upgrades, new sidewalks, ADA-accessible pathways, lighting enhancements and traffic improvements. Those elements matter to Garfield Ridge residents because they affect how the vacant tract connects to surrounding streets, sidewalks and public spaces.

The project therefore has two timelines. The first is the construction timeline for the two six-story buildings and their associated site work. The second is the longer redevelopment timeline for additional housing, commercial uses, healthcare services and open space. Only the first phase has a stated 2028 completion target in the current CHA announcement.

What nearby residents and future renters should watch

For nearby residents, the most visible changes will come before the apartments open. Construction activity will bring active work areas, deliveries, utility coordination and changing conditions around the Cicero Avenue frontage and nearby streets. CHA identifies traffic and public-realm improvements as part of the project, but its announcement does not provide a block-by-block schedule for closures or temporary access changes.

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Residents should therefore rely on notices from the City of Chicago, CHA, the development team and local officials for specific street or sidewalk changes. The existence of a master plan does not establish the day-to-day construction sequence for every portion of the site.

Future renters should also distinguish between the unit count and the leasing process. The public announcements establish the number of apartments and the broad affordability categories, but they do not publish final rents, a move-in date, a completed tenant-selection schedule or one universal application path for all 183 homes. Project-based-voucher apartments, other income-restricted apartments and market-rate homes may be handled through different procedures.

The first-phase design also gives the site a family-services component from the outset. The Chicago Commons early childhood center is planned within the initial construction package rather than being identified only as a later-phase possibility. CHA says the center will occupy 14,000 square feet, but the current announcement does not provide an opening date separate from the broader 2028 completion target.

The commercial portion is less defined. Ground-floor retail space is part of the first phase, while the larger development plan includes retail, healthcare and other commercial uses. Chicago Sun-Times reporting noted that grocery and medical-service concepts remained unresolved before the groundbreaking. That distinction is important: the redevelopment vision can include neighborhood services without meaning that final tenants or opening dates have already been secured.

Permit and zoning context for the project and nearby work

The LeClaire Courts plan also illustrates why zoning approval and construction approval are separate steps. The city’s planned-development document establishes the site’s approved framework and calls for site-plan review for future phases. The Chicago Department of Buildings says a building permit is required before most construction, demolition and repair work, and city permit guidance identifies plan-based building permits and specialty permits as separate parts of its system.

A ZIP code or postal city alone is not authoritative for determining jurisdiction. Property owners and contractors must confirm the actual parcel, municipality and reviewing agency before beginning work. Readers can use the Illinois permit finder to help confirm the correct permit authority for a separate project.

Separate fire, health, septic or well, and road or right-of-way permits may apply in addition to the building permit, depending on the work and the site. Chicago’s permit guidance, for example, identifies sewer, water-service, sign and other specialty permits, while fire-related systems can involve the Chicago Fire Department. A planned-development approval for one parcel does not authorize unrelated remodeling or site work on another parcel nearby.

That caveat is especially relevant around a large redevelopment site. A homeowner, contractor or business owner with a Chicago mailing address still needs to verify requirements for the specific property and scope of work. The LeClaire Courts approvals and construction activity should not be treated as a permit shortcut for neighboring renovations, additions, signs, utility work or right-of-way activity.

The next milestone is completion of the first two buildings

CHA expects the first phase to be completed in 2028. The agency identifies SCB as the designer and George Sollitt Construction Co. as the general contractor for the initial phase.

The near-term test for the redevelopment will be whether the two buildings, early childhood center, commercial space and site improvements are delivered as one connected phase. The longer-term test will be whether later housing, services and public spaces follow through on the broader plan for the 32-acre property.

For now, the most concrete change is that LeClaire Courts has crossed from a long-vacant site into active residential construction. The first phase brings together assisted housing, other affordable apartments and a smaller market-rate component, while adding early childhood space and infrastructure intended to reconnect the property with Garfield Ridge. The up-to-700-home figure remains a future buildout target; the 183 apartments now under construction are the project’s defined first step.