Chicago Seeks Another Developer for Cabrini-Green Plans

The Chicago Housing Authority is again regrouping on a key slice of its long-delayed Near North Side redevelopment after the withdrawal of its developer partners threw plans for hundreds of units into limbo.

The CHA issued a new request for proposals for the 7-acre parcel at 1450 North Larrabee Street last month after the previous development team, led by Hunt Development Group, Pennrose and Imagine Development Group, fell apart last fall, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

The site, once home to Near North High School, is slated for mixed-income housing, with at least 180 CHA-subsidized units under a long-term lease.

The previous team proposed 750 housing units, then pivoted to a 480-unit mid-rise plan, but failed to secure financing.

Hunt, which controlled the partnership, pulled out last August. Pennrose, which also had a stake in the deal, has exited the Chicago market entirely for other locations around the county where the firm has had “more success.” Only Imagine Group says it will pursue the new RFP, due May 27, and is seeking partners.

The collapse highlights the challenges facing public-private housing deals amid the climate of high interest rates, labor costs and regulatory hurdles, plus the Trump administration’s tariff hikes, which are expected to raise steel and lumber prices.

The setback adds pressure to the CHA’s years-long push to replace the demolished Cabrini-Green Homes.

The site is one of the last pieces in the agency’s “Cabrini Now” plan, a long-range redevelopment blueprint that spans roughly 43 acres and envisions more than 4,000 units. A court ruling in February allowed CHA to reissue the RFP despite opposition from the Cabrini-Green Local Advisory Council, which feared further delays.

Alderman Walter Burnett Jr. called the financing failure disappointing and urged CHA to get it going. CHA has already hosted three community meetings and says it aims to finalize plans in the coming weeks.

The RFP follows the demolition last year of the former high school on the site and requires a mix of market-rate, affordable and CHA-subsidized housing. New partners will need to meet zoning approvals and prove capacity to navigate a politically fraught development process.

The broader Cabrini-Green redevelopment also ties into the agency’s right-of-return obligations. Thirty-three families are still entitled to return to the area, more than a decade after the last high-rise came down.

The Cabrini-Green complex once spanned 70 acres and included 23 high-rises and dozens of rowhouses, housing more than 15,000 residents at its peak. All of the high-rises were demolished between 1995 and 2011 as part of the CHA’s Plan for Transformation.

— Judah Duke