Chicago City Council has approved city funding and a $1 sale of city-owned land that clears the way for a 90-unit affordable apartment building at 5853 N. Broadway in Edgewater, replacing a Streets and Sanitation depot just steps from the Thorndale Red Line station. The approval means Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation can now close on the project's financing and move forward with construction.
Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation is the developer behind the proposal, according to Urbanize Chicago. The site sits along Broadway just south of W. Thorndale Avenue and Broadway Armory Park, and the Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation describes it as a 0.53-acre, city-owned parcel located just south of the Broadway Armory, less than two blocks from the Thorndale CTA Red Line stop, per the Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation. The nonprofit calls the plan a 90-apartment, 100% affordable transit-oriented development.
With LBBA Architects behind the design, the building will rise 11 floors, fronting N. Broadway with a three-story volume before a tower rises behind it, Urbanize Chicago reports. The facade is planned with metal paneling and colorful accent panels, and the publication describes the structure as set to rise 128 feet tall — though another account has put the height at just over 100 feet, a discrepancy the dossier does not resolve.
What the Ground Floor and Upper Units Will Offer
The ground floor is designed to include a residential lobby along N. Broadway, community space and management offices, according to Chicago Construction News, which also reported 14 car parking spaces on site. The Loyola Phoenix, however, has described a 17-car parking lot — a conflict that remains unreconciled across coverage. Residents are also expected to have access to a rooftop terrace on the fourth floor and other outdoor space, the station's report notes.
Of the 90 planned apartments, 85 will serve residents earning 60% of the area median income and five will serve residents at 30% of area median income, per the same account. On the unit mix itself, reports diverge: Urbanize Chicago lists 30 one-bedroom, 50 two-bedroom and 10 three-bedroom units, while Block Club Chicago has reported 35 one-bedroom, 40 two-bedroom and 15 three-bedroom apartments.
Financing the $72.8 Million Project
Urbanize Chicago pegs the development's total cost at $72.8 million, to be funded through $18.5 million in city-issued tax-exempt bonds, $22 million in tax-increment financing and $9.8 million in HOME funds, along with other funding sources. Block Club Chicago has previously cited a $71 million project cost, and Chicago Construction News has listed $71.1 million — figures that don't match the $72.8 million total, without a clear explanation for the gap. A City of Chicago Committee on Finance meeting summary separately listed a substitute ordinance authorizing Multi-Family Housing Revenue Bonds not to exceed $26 million for the entity tied to the project.
A city public notice describes the proposed sale of 5853 N. Broadway through the Chicago Department of Housing to Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation for affordable multifamily rental housing, stating the developer was chosen through the department's Qualified Allocation Plan process and that competing proposals would not be accepted.
No Official Construction Timeline Yet
Leopardo Construction and ALL Construction will serve as general contractors on the project, but an official timeline for construction has not been announced, according to the same Urbanize Chicago report. Earlier projections have varied: Block Club Chicago previously cited a Bickerdike spokesperson saying construction could start this fall and finish in spring 2027, while Chicago YIMBY reported in September 2025 that the development team planned to break ground in the coming months and complete the project in the second half of 2027.
Addressing a Shrinking Supply of Affordable Units
The project arrives as Edgewater faces what The Loyola Phoenix described as rising rents and low vacancies, leaving fewer stable housing options for workers and families. The median rent across ZIP code 60660, which includes much of Edgewater, stood at $1,474 for all unit types compared with $1,950 citywide, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.
Bickerdike has pursued similar projects elsewhere on the North Side. The nonprofit opened the seven-story, $40 million Lucy Gonzalez Parsons Apartments in 2022, with half the units reserved for the Chicago Housing Authority, and it separately applied to develop Metropolitan L, an affordable tower with up to 96 units at 2525 N. Kedzie Boulevard in Logan Square, according to the Chicago Tribune. The same report noted that Logan Square's share of affordable housing stock fell from 40.4% in 2012-2014 to 25% in 2019-2021, part of the broader pressure driving nonprofits like Bickerdike to pursue new construction.
