Fifteen years after the wrecking ball leveled the old LeClaire Courts public housing complex, construction crews are finally set to break ground this month on the first phase of its replacement — two six-story buildings holding 183 apartments, a new early childhood center and commercial space on Chicago's Southwest Side.
The Chicago Housing Authority finalized a development agreement with Cabrera Capital Partners and The Habitat Company back in 2020, according to Block Club Chicago. The developers originally hoped to finish the first phase by 2024, but the pandemic, inflation and rising interest rates threw those plans off track, a delay also documented by the Chicago Sun-Times. An initial groundbreaking that was projected for spring 2025 slipped further, per Chicago YIMBY, before construction permits for the first two buildings were finally issued by the City of Chicago in October 2025.
What's Rising on Cicero Avenue
The two new six-story mid-rise buildings will sit at 4809 W. 44th Street and 4442 S. Cicero Avenue, according to the Chicago Housing Authority. The housing authority's own figures describe the mix as 91 CHA project-based voucher apartments, 74 affordable apartments and 18 market-rate apartments, though a 2023 account from the agency's board approval described a different split of 86 CHA-supported units, 79 affordable units and 18 market-rate units. Block Club Chicago reported the unit breakdown includes 25 studios, 114 one-bedrooms, 40 two-bedrooms and 4 three-bedrooms, with roughly half of all units reserved for renters accepted under the CHA voucher program.
The project also includes new commercial retail space and an early childhood center operated by Chicago Commons, which the housing authority says will occupy the northernmost building, according to the Sun-Times. Retail operators have not yet been determined, per Block Club Chicago. Chicago YIMBY reports the south building at 4442 South Cicero will contain about 2,000 square feet of retail space, while the north building is expected to feature a rooftop apiary. The George Sollitt Construction Company of Wood Dale has been designated as general contractor, the outlet notes.
A Patchwork of Public Financing
Getting the project to this point required layering together a wide range of funding sources. Block Club Chicago reports the Chicago Housing Authority provided a $27 million loan to the overall development, alongside $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 and $1.25 million in Illinois affordable housing tax credit equity. The project also includes a $1.2 million deferred developer fee, according to the outlet.
The overall price tag for the first phase has been reported inconsistently: the Sun-Times describes it as a $119 million project, while Chicago Urbanize and Block Club Chicago put the figure at $127 million. Developers plan an October groundbreaking, and Kemena Brooks said construction is set to finish in the first half of 2028 — timing that aligns with the housing authority's own estimate of an August 2026 construction start and a 2028 completion.
Garfield Ridge's First New Housing Since 2011
The original LeClaire Courts public housing complex, completed in the 1950s, was demolished in 2011, leaving the 32-acre site along Cicero Avenue near the Stevenson Expressway vacant for a decade and a half. This first phase marks the first project to bring housing back to the area since demolition, according to Block Club Chicago. Ald. Michael Rodriguez said the project marks one of the largest residential investments in the Southwest Side in a long time, and he said he is hopeful the development will eventually bring a full-service market along with better infrastructure for cyclists and pedestrians.
“Attracting this kind of development spurs further development,” Rodriguez said, according to Block Club Chicago. The 32-acre site is part of a broader proposal that could eventually include nearly 700 residential units and additional retail space, though an earlier 2023 estimate from the Sun-Times put the full build-out at 650 mixed-income residences. Later phases are expected to emphasize mid-rise or townhome construction rather than the taller buildings planned for phase one.
A Nearby Preview of What Redevelopment Can Look Like
A separate six-acre portion of the former LeClaire Courts site offers a glimpse of what revitalization has already achieved nearby. Nonprofit Cultivate Collective revamped that section of the property between 2022 and 2023 as part of a $60 million plan, according to Block Club Chicago, creating a home for the Academy for Global Citizenship K-8 public school, a federally qualified health center and a three-acre urban farm. Businesses including McDonald's, Taco Bell and Starbucks have since opened along the Cicero corridor nearby, the outlet reports — a sign, local officials hope, of the kind of commercial activity the housing project could eventually attract to the long-dormant site.
