Casa Yucatan celebrates groundbreaking

Mayor Brandon Johnson recently joined Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th), Department of Housing (DOH) Commissioner Lisette Castañeda, and developer The Resurrection Project to celebrate the groundbreaking of Casa Yucatan, an affordable housing development at 1609 W. 21st Pl in Pilsen. 

"Casa Yucatán is one of the first housing developments to close with funding support from our $1.25 billion Housing and Economic Development Bond, and I am proud that we are investing in a truly transformational development for Pilsen,” said Mayor Brandon Johnson. “We continue to confront our city’s housing crisis through our Build Better Together initiative and today we take this exciting step towards building more affordable housing and ensuring working families can continue to call Pilsen home.” 

Designed by local firm DesignBridge, the all-affordable development will stand 8 floors tall with a precast facade and structure organized in a U-shaped massing. After initially having an L-shaped design, the massing changed to a U-shape to accommodate more green space on the site and to allow for a stepping down of the massing from 8 floors along S. Ashland Ave to 4 floors adjacent to neighborhood homes to the west of the site.

Planned to have 98 apartments, the unit mix will include 38 one-beds, 34 two-beds, and 26 three-beds. The developer is using income averaging to provide 26 of the units at 30% AMI, 10 units at 15% AMI and 12 units at 70% AMI to reach a weighted average of 60% AMI. Rents will range from $551 to $1,768 a month. 

The building will include 2,500 square feet of community space along S. Ashland Ave, featuring a multipurpose room, mail room, and a training center. The development will also offer on-site management, laundry facilities, and storage. 20 car parking spaces and 98 bike parking spaces will be provided for residents.

The $62 million project received $15.8 million in financing and capital support from the Department of Housing (DOH) in addition to LIHTC equity, IHDA funds, and other sources.

With the caisson permit and full building permit issued, the celebration of groundbreaking marks the beginning of construction, which is being led by joint venture general contractors Crane Construction and Blackwood Group.