EAST CHICAGO | Preparation of unused North Harbor property for the construction of new townhouses and single-family homes is scheduled to begin this week.
Many of the residences are expected to be available by late summer, after the go-ahead from the Board of Public Works and Safety on Wednesday.
The 50 new townhouses and nine detached homes planned for the 3600 blocks of Main and Deodar streets, and the 3700 block of Pulaski Street, are the latest phase in a multiyear revitalization effort to bring housing and commercial opportunities to the North Harbor area.
"We've had a lot of success so far," said Will Woodley, project manager with Boston-based The Community Builders Inc., partner with the city and Hispanic Housing Development Corp. of Chicago on the renewal plan.
Just a few of the 75 townhomes built last year in the initial phase of the project have yet to be occupied, Woodley said.
The city has invested more than $10 million over the past four years to improve the streets and infrastructure around the Main Street-Broadway corridor, once the commercial center of Indiana Harbor, in support of the redevelopment plan.
Demolition of the remaining buildings in the area and removal of the former municipal parking lot there is scheduled to take about six weeks, with actual construction beginning in June.
The single-family homes facing the newly renovated Nunez Park on Deodar Street will be priced in the low- to mid-$100,000s, and include a number of customizable options.
St. Catherine Hospital is offering down payment assistance and free homeownership counseling to employees who choose to build there, as well as workers at sister institutions Community Hospital in Munster and St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart.
Funded with assistance from the Legacy Foundation, the down payment grant program was designed by the Metropolitan Planning Council of Chicago.
Two homes will be built immediately, Woodley said, one as a permanent model for potential homebuyers to examine, and one to sell.
A new two-story building is planned for the corner of Main Street and Broadway, Woodley said, with retail space on the ground floor and project management offices and "community space" -- for residents' use -- upstairs.
The historic pharmacy there had been eyed for rehabilitation, he said, but after a fire and years of water damage, the structure was no longer viable. Its replacement will be "significant," though, he said.
Construction will be funded through a combination of federal Neighborhood Stabilization Fund grants through the Indiana Housing Development Authority and casino taxes from the lakefront allocation area.
More federal and state support should be available later this year through the Stable Communities Initiative, Woodley said.
The project is on track with Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority's plans for transportation improvements and greater access to the lakefront, he said.
"The long-term goal is for East Chicago to rebuild itself as a lakefront community, not just for Northwest Indiana, but for all of Chicagoland," Woodley said.
