First ‘Missing Middle’ housing development breaks ground

Mayor Brandon Johnson and city officials recently joined developer Citizens Building a Better Community (CBBC) to break ground on seven two-flats in North Lawndale, the first of 115 market rate units planned for construction in the community through the Department of Planning and Development’s (DPD) Missing Middle infill housing initiative. 

"Today we take another step forward in our mission to rapidly build new homes and invest in the neighborhoods where Chicago’s families live, grow, and plant roots,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson. “As we continue to confront the housing crisis head-on, initiatives like Missing Middle address the critical disparities that exist in access to homeownership. With each project, we demonstrate what’s possible when government and community come together to lay the foundation for a more equitable and thriving city.” 

The $5.4 million project is transforming seven formerly-vacant city lots on the 1400 and 1500 blocks of South Trumbull and Homan Avenues and the 3300 block of West Douglas Boulevard into homes that will be marketed to buyers earning up to 140% of the area’s median income—$134,400 for a two-person household. 

Missing Middle provides city lots for $1 and up to $150,000 per unit in funds made available by Mayor Johnson’s $1.25 Housing and Economic Development Bond to help developers create homes with purchase prices that are commensurate with market rates. 

Four additional Missing Middle projects are anticipated to break ground in North Lawndale early this year led by minority-led developers Alteza Group, Westside Community Group, Beauty for Ashes and Sunshine Management. Selected in January 2025 along with CBBC through a DPD Request for Proposals (RFP) process, the five projects collectively include 40 multi-unit buildings valued at more than $37 million. 

A second round of selected proposals in Chatham, South Chicago and Morgan Park are creating 101 units across 31 buildings valued at $38.8 million.