Related Midwest has put on the market the 694-unit Parkway Gardens Apartments, a decade after acquiring the 13-acre property whose residents have long grappled with its persistent violence.
Related paid $40 million in 2011 for the Section 8 housing complex in Woodlawn, and completed renovations on it in 2014, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, which first reported on the listing. Related received millions of dollars in tax-exempt bonds from the state, low-income housing tax credits and historic rehabilitation tax credits for the acquisition and subsequent renovation.
The property has had a history of gun violence dating to the 1970s, according to the report. Former First Lady Michelle Obama grew up in the complex in the 1960s, when it was a quieter, starkly different place.
Related said in a statement it was “actively seeking new leadership who will build upon our efforts and continue maintaining the property as affordable housing for years to come,” the Times noted. Affordable Housing Advisors has the listing.
Alderman Jeannette Taylor criticized Related’s ownership, calling the property a “headache for them.”
“They couldn’t do nothing with it and didn’t want to be made to look bad because they want to continue working with the city, so they’re trying to get rid of it,” Taylor said.
Related is one of the city’s biggest developers, with properties that include the ultra-luxury One Bennett Park condo tower, along with its $1 billion twin-tower project at the former Chicago Spire site and The 78, its $7 billion planned megadevelopment in the South Loop.
[Sun-Times] — Alexi Friedman