After more than a decade of staring at a mostly empty stretch of asphalt along South Halsted, Morgan Park is a step closer to getting something new on the old Jewel-Osco site. On Tuesday, Chicago’s Community Development Commission signed off on $5 million in tax-increment financing and a city land conveyance that moves the first phase of the Morgan Park Commons project closer to construction. The initial piece of this multi-phase redevelopment would bring two mixed-use buildings with roughly 70 apartments, ground-floor retail, and community space. Developers and city filings frame the move as a key milestone in bringing the 12-acre site back into use after years of vacancy, with local partners including the Far South Community Development Corporation, Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH), and DL3 Realty.
As reported by Urbanize Chicago, the Community Development Commission’s vote advances the proposed $5 million in TIF for phase one and pushes the proposed conveyance of city-owned land at 11420 S. Halsted closer to closing. Phase one carries an estimated $54.6 million budget and calls for two five-story buildings that reach about 60 feet in height, with 35 residential units in each structure, plus two live/work units at ground level and additional retail space.
How phase one is being financed
The development team has stacked together a complex funding package: about $37 million in LIHTC equity, roughly $9.1 million in city multifamily loan funds, $1.1 million in private debt, the requested $5 million in TIF and smaller pieces such as donation tax credits and a deferred developer fee, Chicago YIMBY reports. That mix is expected to make most of the 70 phase-one apartments affordable at different AMI levels and includes a group of CHA project-based voucher units, according to the project summary.
Design, parking and park
Plan documents and renderings show the two buildings sharing rear parking and generous bike storage, with the north building slated to include a small retail bay and fitness room and the south building set to offer a community room and office space, as detailed by Chicago Cityscape. The larger master plan for Morgan Park Commons envisions additional housing phases, a performing arts center and a new roughly two-acre park that would link into the Major Taylor Trail, according to the project’s official site at Morgan Park Commons.
Next steps and timeline
The CDC’s approval is not the final word. The land sale and TIF allocation still need sign-off from the City Council before the development team can reach financial closing and begin construction, as noted by Urbanize Chicago. If those approvals and the remaining financing come together, developers say phase one could break ground in the months ahead, with later stages delivering the park and performing arts space.
Why it matters for Morgan Park
The project ranks as one of the larger public-private investments proposed for the Far South Side in recent years, with the potential for construction jobs, fresh retail options and new mixed-income housing aimed at stabilizing the Halsted commercial corridor. Project partners highlight the blend of affordable units and community-focused amenities as central to keeping long-term residents in place while drawing new activity to a 12-acre site that has been largely dormant for more than a decade, according to information on the developer’s site and planning materials.
