Beckahm, Habitat near city deals for taxes and land on Bronzeville project

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot celebrated in July the $100 million multifamily project by Phil Beckham and Charlton Hamer’s development firms reaching the halfway point.

Now, all that’s needed by the firms — Beckham’s is P3 Markets, and Hamer’s is The Habitat Co. — to start work on building 80 more apartments in the South Side neighborhood is the final Chicago City Council approval of a tax break and a couple of discounted land sales, Urbanize Chicago reported.

The Chicago Plan Commission and City Council approved the planned development for the next stage of 43 Green. Around the same time the Community Development Commission approved the sale of city-owned land at 4300 South Prairie Avenue and $10 million in TIF funding for the project.

The project will be built on the vacant corner lot at East 43rd Street, west of the 43rd Green Line CTA “L” stop in Bronzeville. Plans include a 10-story building and 4,000 square feet of ground-floor retail that will include a UPS store and a dental office. There will be parking for 13 vehicles and 56 bicycles, with less parking per unit than other developments because of its proximity to the train line.

The first phase is bringing 99 units to 4308 South Calumet Avenue on the other side of the train tracks and is set to be completed early next year. The second is being designed by Landon Bone Baker Architects and Moody Nolan, and will rise 106 feet to match the roofline of phase one.

Of the new building’s 80 units, 37 will be priced at 60 percent of the area median income, seven will be priced at 50 percent and 36 will be market-rate. There will be 24 studios, 48 one-bedroom units and eight two-bedroom units.

The two city-owned lots targeted by Beckham and Habitat for the second phase have been appraised at $162,000, yet will be sold at $1 per parcel to help make the project economically viable. Lightfoot has made real estate development in South and West Side neighborhoods a priority of her administration.

A $10 million tax increment financing deal is required from the city that will offer a temporary tax break on improvements to the property. Plus the $45 million second phase of 43Green will receive $6.3 million from a federal Department of Housing and Urban Development mortgage, $20.9 million in low-income housing tax credits, $6.5 million in multifamily housing funds and $610,000 in deferred developer fees.

The City Council still needs to approve the land sale and allocation of TIF funds. Those deals are expected to close early next year, and the development is expected to be completed in 2024.

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