Housing Commissioner Ellen Sahli joined community leaders, members of the development team and others in celebrating the groundbreaking for Rosa Parks Apartments, a new 94-unit affordable rental development in the City's Humboldt Park community.

"The groundbreaking that we celebrate today is yet another example of our long term commitment to providing affordable housing," Sahli said. "It is developments like these that help our neighborhoods grow stronger, and demonstrate how working together we can collectively work to provide affordable housing citywide."

The $27.2 million development, consisting of eight buildings on scattered sites, will be located in the area bounded by Kedzie and Drake Aves., Huron St. and Franklin Blvd.

The City conveyed eight parcels to Bickerdike Redevelopment Corp., which will build the 94-unit development with a mix of two-, three- and six-flats and three- and four-story walk-ups in the 27th Ward.

The development will feature eight one-bedroom, 36 two-bedroom, 45 three-bedroom and five four-bedroom apartments. The units will range from 720 to 1,300 square feet in size with monthly rents projected to be between $482 and $1,028.

Eight units will be provided with long-term rental assistance from the Chicago Low-Income Housing Trust Fund to make them affordable for very-low income residents.

Numerous "green" design and building techniques will work to lessen the impact on the environment, making the development energy-efficient and more affordable to maintain.

Features will include high-efficiency insulation, bamboo flooring, a geothermal HVAC system, solar water heaters, water conservation devices and Energy Star appliances.

The City will invest up to $7.1 million in loans, $3.5 million in tax increment financing (TIF) assistance, $713,000 from the Chicago Low-Income Housing Trust Fund and receive $1,100,000 in donations tax credits from the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) and transfer them to the developer who will receive an investment of $945,192 for the tax credits (project is eligible for tax credits because the City will convey eight parcels of land worth $2.2 million). Additional funding will come from IHDA, grants and a private mortgage loan.

For more information on Rosa Parks Apartments, call 773/278-5669 or visit www.bickerdike.org.