Missing Middle Infill Housing
Applicants must attend at least one virtual webinar to be able to proceed with the application process.
Please register for one of the sessions below.
The Missing Middle Housing Initiative is a neighborhood repopulation strategy that is leveraging City land and financing for contemporary home construction on behalf of market rate buyers.
The pilot program is initially offering 44 vacant City lots in North Lawndale for redevelopment as one- to six-unit residential buildings. The lots will be sold to qualified housing developers in clusters, with completed homes to be made available at market rates for owner-occupants interested in being part of North Lawndale’s mixed-use renaissance. To facilitate development, each lot is priced at $1 with up to $150,000 in construction assistance available per unit through Mayor Brandon Johnson's Housing and Economic Development bond. Interested developers may apply through the ChiBlockBuilder land sale portal from October 1 through November 15, 2024.
Background
Led by the Department of Planning and Development, the Missing Middle initiative is the residential component of a community improvement strategy designed to reverse decades of systemic disinvestment that created thousands of vacant lots and "missing" middle-density buildings across the South and West Side. North Lawndale represents the pilot phase of the initiative.
Program Guide
The Missing Middle program guide provides property details, application criteria and scoring, environmental information, demographic data, recent City investments and other information to facilitate the acquisition and development of available lots.
Pilot Area
The 44 available Missing Middle lots are grouped within six clusters containing at least five lots each. Located in a .5-square-mile area within walking distance to Ogden Avenue and public transit options, the lots were selected for the pilot phase due to their proximity, local land values, zoning, nearby private and public investments, and input by elected officials.
Applications
Missing Middle housing applications will be accepted until Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. Developers must select at least one cluster for redevelopment as single-family homes, townhomes, two-flats, three-flats flats, or six-flats. Download the program guide for application assistance.
Required Informational Webinars
Interested applicants must attend at least one virtual webinar to proceed with the ChiBlockBuilder application process.
Please register for one of the sessions below.