City Council approves development at 754 W. Belden

The Chicago City Council has approved a residential development at 754 W. Belden. Planned by Over the Rainbow Association (OTR), the project site is located at the intersection of W. Belden Ave and N. Halsted St. OTR is an Illinois non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the quality of life for individuals with physical disabilities through the creation of affordable, accessible, barrier-free housing solutions and person-centered services that encourage independent living.

The organization owns and operates the current two-story residential building located on the property, which has eight units and surface parking. The organization is looking to redevelop the site to meet demand as the building has a long waitlist and there aren’t enough units for the demand. The site’s parking is underutilized as the residents do not own cars and the unique existing building makes reuse or additions infeasible. 

Designed by Weese Langley Weese, the new building for the site will be a five-story building reaching approximately 65 feet in height. It will provide 30 fully accessible and affordable residential units to support adults with physical disabilities. No retail space, no car parking, and no bike parking is planned for the project. 

On the ground floor, the building’s residential entry is located at the corner of the building, with offices, a laundry room, and a community room facing N. Halsted St. Two residential units will be located at the back of the building. The upper floors of the building will have seven units per floor and all of the apartments would be one-bedroom layouts. 

Since the building serves people with disabilities, all units are universally designed to provide barrier-free, accessible living. Features include lower kitchen + bath counters with spacious under counter wheelchair accessibility; easy access kitchen appliances; large bathrooms with wheel-in showers; and higher outlets and lower light switches. 

As an affordable development, all of the apartments developed by OTR come with rental subsidies, typically making the units affordable to those earning at or below 30% AMI. Residents will pay 30% of their adjusted gross income toward the rent and HUD will pay the remainder. 

With City Council approval secured, the site will be rezoned from RT-4 to B2-3 to allow for the scope of the project. The developer plans to start construction in Summer 2027 with completion and occupancy set for Winter 2028/2029.