Woodlawn Social selected as RFQ winner

The Chicago Department of Planning and Development and Mayor Lightfoot have announced Woodlawn Social as the winner of the Woodlawn RFQ process. Chosen from three finalists announced back in February, the proposal was one of the responses to a DPD Request for Qualifications (RFQ) issued in August 2022. The project site is a plot of vacant, city-owned land on E. 63rd St between S. Ingleside Ave and S. Greenwood Ave. 

"I am thrilled to announce Woodlawn Social as the winning project to move forward," Mayor Lightfoot said. "The combination of affordable and market-rate housing, along with the retail and recreation spaces that this development will ultimately include, will be a boon to the Woodlawn neighborhood." 

As the winning proposal, Woodlawn Social is being planned by POAH and KMW Communities. Set to develop Site 2 at the corner of E. 63rd and S. Greenwood, the development team includes the collaboration of architects Koning Eizenberg and HED Architects on the design. Working to create community through the architecture, the design takes the traditional street block and cuts it up, turning the forms and creating spaces in between for residents and the public. The building is charged with achieving the Living Building Challenge, with the goal of performing in a resilient, carbon-free way.

Set to rise five floors, the building will have a total of 70 homes, including 60 mixed-income apartments broken down into 36 one-beds, 16 two-beds, and 8 three-beds. The remaining 10 housing units will be for-sale townhomes in a separate four-story building. The project will incorporate 8,500 square feet of commercial space, 9,000 square feet of public open space, 10,000 square feet of private open space, and 26 parking spaces. 

The $48.4 million development will now advance through the city’s formal review and approval process. City assistance could include TIF funding, Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, a land write-down, and other funding sources. Construction could start as early as mid-2024.