Lake Village
4700 S. Lake Park Ave. Chicago, IL
Ansonia originated an innovative plan to acquire and preserve the affordability of this 218-unit lakefront high-rise property located in a rapidly gentrifying area of Chicago’s Hyde Park-Kenwood neighborhood. The prior owner paid off the HUD-insured Section 236 loan, terminating the subsidy that put a cap on rents. Incumbent residents were eligible to receive tenant-based voucher assistance that would have protected them, but Ansonia recognized the long-term affordability of the property would be eroded over time as residents moved out. Additionally, some residents would have incurred significant rent increases, promoting displacement.
Working closely with the Tenant Association, Ansonia persuaded the Chicago Housing Authority to allow tenants the choice to project-base their vouchers—a first for CHA. Project funding combined tax-exempt bonds issued by the Illinois Housing Development Authority, a new FHA-insured mortgage, 4% Low Income Housing Tax Credits, and Illinois Affordable Housing Tax Credits. Together these resources enabled Ansonia to replace several building systems, including some dating to the construction of the property 40+ years earlier, and to complete the first-ever comprehensive renovation of apartment interiors. Notably, Ansonia was able to complete this work without displacing a single resident by closely coordinating a complex and ever-changing set of variables.
