TIF approved for Encuentro Square west of the Bloomingdale trail

The Community Development Commission has approved TIF money for the upcoming Encuentro Square development, located just west of the Bloomingdale trail. Located at 1805 N. Hamlin Ave, the site is the former Magid Glove factory. The project is being developed by Latin United Community Housing Association (LUCHA) and Evergreen Real Estate Group.

Split into two phases, the Encuentro Square redevelopment will deliver a total of 195 mixed-income rental units across three buildings. With a design by Canopy Architecture & Design, the first phase will see the buildout of the first two buildings. Rising six and four stories respectively, the first phase will deliver 89 of the total units.

The unit mix will consist of 19 one-beds, 47 two-beds, and 23 three-bedroom units, with all of them designated for residents at 60% AMI, except for 4 units that will be market rate. The buildings will have residential amenities including a community room, teaching kitchen, computer room, office suite, bike room, lounge, children’s room, and exterior terrace.

The buildings are being developed with financial assistance from the Chicago Department of Housing. The buildings are receiving 4% and 9% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and the developers are requesting $9 million in TIF money from the city. The first phase is expected to cost approximately $49.3 million. 

The southern end of the site will become a new public park to link to the terminus of the Bloomingdale trail as part of the 606. As of now the park space is under remediation along with the rest of the site. Once work is done, the Chicago Park District will engage in a community process to determine how the park should be developed. At that time, they will seek funding sources to build out the park. 

The Community Development Commission approved both the land sale of the property to the developers and the $9 million TIF money requested by the development team. The project still awaits city approvals before work can begin. Remediation on the site is already underway.