Habitat celebrates milestones at OC Living

Habitat recently joined Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, local and federal officials, project partners and current residents to commemorate two significant milestones at OC Living, a new mixed-income community in North Lawndale within the $200 million Ogden Commons mixed-use project developed by Habitat, Sinai Chicago, and Alecko Capital. Attendees first gathered to celebrate the grand opening of OC Living, the project’s first residential building. After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, a groundbreaking then took place for OC Living Phase A2, the community’s second residential building. 

“This is really about reversing the legacy of disinvestment and that’s the core of our work,” said Mayor Johnson, during his on-site remarks, pointing to the city’s $9 million investment in the upcoming Phase A2 building and 23% of the project’s total development costs being covered by Chicago TIF funds. “My administration believes that every single human need is a human right, especially when it comes to housing. Furthermore, we believe that housing is crucially necessary to achieve safety, equity and vitality. These investments are critical because it’s going to deliver more residential homes for North Lawndale and CHA support for 62 more affordable units.”

Located at 1325 S. Washtenaw, the recently completed four-story OC Living building includes 92 units, with a mix of 23 studios, 60 one-bedrooms and nine two-bedroom apartments which 90% of are affordable. 

OC Living residents have access to outdoor amenities such as an enclosed rubber-surfaced children’s tot lot with play structures, bike racks, a lighted on-site walking path, landscaped lawn and 110 parking stalls. Indoor building amenities include a package and mail room, management and social services offices, resident lounge, fitness center, bike room and on-site laundry facilities. Resident units are Wi-Fi accessible and cable television-ready, and feature open floor plans, walk-in closets, fully equipped kitchens with energy-efficient all-electric appliances and quartz countertops, FOB access entry doors and programmable digital thermostats.

The three-story OC Living Phase A2 at 1312 S. Talman will consist of 75 units with a mix of studios, one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms. 82% of the units will be affordable including 30 available to CHA residents, with the remainder set to be rented at market rate.

“Today we celebrate three important investments in North Lawndale that collectively comprise the Ogden Commons complex and represent over $100 million of investment in the area since 2020,” said Habitat Affordable Group’s Jeff Head, vice president of development, who emceed the event. “Bringing this project from concept to reality is a testament to the unique public-private partnership and collective vision where accessible healthcare, diverse housing options and community amenities come together to support a vibrant community.”

Just steps away is Ogden Commons’ 45,000-square-foot commercial building that marked Phase 1 of the 10-acre development. Completed in 2021, the three-story commercial building is home to Sinai Chicago’s One Lawndale Community Care and Surgery Center, a Wintrust Bank branch, La Catedral Cafe & Restaurant and Momentum Coffee.

The third phase of OC Living residential buildings will consist of townhome and multi-flat units, which will have larger floor plans designed for families.

McHugh Construction and Bowa Construction are serving as general contractors for the development, which is being built over multiple phases. OC Living Phase A2 is scheduled to open in late 2025.