Mayor Brandon Johnson introduced ordinances to the Chicago City Council for construction of eight new homes in West Garfield Park through the city's Missing Middle housing initiative. The proposed $3.1 million project would transform four vacant city-owned lots on the 4000 block of West Jackson Boulevard into four two-flat buildings, with two units in each.
Each unit would receive up to $150,000 in city financial assistance from the mayor's $1.25 billion Housing and Economic Development Bond. The city would also sell the four vacant lots to the developer, Eleve West LLC, for $1 each. Each completed structure must be sold to at least one owner-occupant, supporting the program's goal of helping residents build community wealth.
The Missing Middle initiative, led by the Chicago Department of Planning and Development, supports construction of market-rate housing on vacant city-owned land in neighborhoods that have experienced decades of disinvestment. The program focuses on restoring smaller residential building types, including two-flats, that have become less common in Chicago's neighborhoods. More than 300 homes are currently under construction or in the construction pipeline through the initiative.