Evergreen Real Estate plans for North Side senior housing project

A change in state law was needed before the overhaul of the old Ravenswood Hospital could begin

The proposed Ravenswood Senior Living facility
The proposed Ravenswood Senior Living facility

Evergreen Real Estate Group is moving ahead with plans for a 193-unit senior housing project in the old Ravenswood Hospital on the North Side.

The $60 million project would have both supportive and independent living facilities under the same roof, which was prohibited under state law until a new measure was enacted Friday, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The new law, signed by Gov. Bruce Rauner, will allow facilities to include both kinds of housing as long as they have separate entrances, common spaces and staffs.

Jeff Rappin, chairman of the Chicago-based affordable housing developer, said construction of the project at 4501 North Winchester Avenue should start this summer and take about a year to complete.

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It will feature 119 supportive living apartments on the first four floors of the old hospital, and 74 one-bedroom independent living units on the remaining six floors, according to the Tribune.

Rappin told the Tribune he has a $9 million purchase agreement for the old hospital, which closed in 2001. He said he was meeting this week with lenders and the seller, a venture that bought the property in 2014 for $3.9 million.

The project will be funded in part with $24 million from the Chicago Housing Authority and low-income housing tax credits, Rappin said. [Chicago Tribune] — John O’Brien