Ribbon cutting celebrated for Charles Earle School Apartments

Mayor Brandon Johnson recently joined Chicago DOH Commissioner Lissette Castañeda, Gorman & Company, the Phoenix Foundation and community partners to celebrate the ribbon cutting of the Charles Earle School Apartments. Located at the southeast corner of S. Hermitage Ave and W. 61st St, the former Charles Warrington Earle School was built in 1897 and served Chicago students until its closure in 2014.

Planned by developer Gorman & Company, the development has adaptively reused the school building, converting it into 50 units of affordable housing with 50 parking spaces. The unit mix includes 30 one-beds and 20 two-beds, with all of the units affordable to households at 60% AMI. Nine units, supported by the Chicago Low-Income Housing Trust Fund's MAUI program, are available for households at 15% AMI. 

Designed by local firm Beehyyve, the 1974 portion of the building was demolished, with the rest of the school rehabbed. The historic school building had its exterior cleaned and new windows were installed to enclose the facade.

The Phoenix Foundation will provide residents with access to on-site supportive services for individuals and families experiencing or at risk of homelessness. The development includes a community room, computer lab, exercise room, playground, community garden, green space and on-site property management. 

The $34.9 million development was supported by $4.2 million in TIF funding and $540,000 in Chicago Recovery Plan Permanent Supportive Housing funding granted by the Chicago Department of Housing. Additional financing was provided through the Illinois Housing Development Authority, Federal Home Loan Bank’s Affordable Housing Program, ComEd energy incentives, private financing, Low-Income Housing Tax Credit equity, and federal and state Historic Tax Credit equity.