On Friday, shovels hit the dirt outside the 1928 Humboldt Park United Methodist Church at Mozart Street and Shakespeare Avenue, kicking off its transformation into La Herencia Apartments. The sanctuary and adjoining spaces are set to become 22 apartments that organizers say will be 100% affordable for households earning at or below 60% of the area median income, with a mix of deeply affordable and supportive units meant to offer long-term stability.
“This place should become the very first church in the city of Chicago to become 100% affordable housing,” LUCHA Co-Executive Director Lincoln Stannard told the crowd at the groundbreaking. The plan includes 10 “deeply affordable” units for households earning 15%–30% of AMI and five permanent supportive apartments for people exiting homelessness or living with developmental disabilities. The church already has a dozen congregation-managed apartments that will be renovated as part of the project, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Developer Rooted In The Neighborhood
Latin United Community Housing Association, or LUCHA, is steering the conversion. The Humboldt Park-based nonprofit develops, rehabs, and manages affordable housing and also provides HUD-certified counseling and resident services. LUCHA has already created and managed hundreds of units across Humboldt Park, Logan Square, and West Town, and describes this church project as a natural extension of its mission to maintain long-term, community-centered housing for Latinx and Spanish-speaking residents, according to Latin United Community Housing Association.
Money, Timeline, And City Support
The city and the Chicago Department of Housing are backing the effort with a multilayered financing package. That includes $7.6 million in tax-credit equity, $4.7 million from housing and economic development fund,s and another $2.5 million specifically for permanent supportive housing and decarbonization work. LUCHA pegs construction costs at about $11 million and expects the build-out to take roughly 12 months. Redevelopment work was slated to start on Monday, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Design Will Keep The Church’s Character
Architects plan to hold on to the church’s 1928 exterior and its large sanctuary windows while carving out new apartments inside the nave and stretching the existing balcony into a full second floor. The design also calls for an elevator, accessible units, updated finishes, and in-unit laundry. The property is listed as 2120 N Mozart Street, which the United Methodist directory identifies as the congregation’s address, according to United Methodist Communications.
A Long-Fought Alternative To Luxury Conversion
The redevelopment caps a multi-year push to keep the site affordable. LUCHA and church leaders first went after federal and state funding in 2020, then secured a $2 million congressional award in 2022 that helped make the 22-unit plan financially feasible. Community organizers and local officials have cast the project as a deliberate counterpoint to the wave of luxury conversions that have reshaped parts of Logan Square, according to earlier reporting from Block Club Chicago.
For neighbors, the development is both a preservation play and an open statement that long-time residents should have a way to stay put as the area continues to change. LUCHA will manage the building and plans to release more information on leasing and move-in timing as construction advances. City officials and community leaders joined Friday’s event to celebrate what organizers described as a “corner of hope” for generations to come.
