Attachment #5 - Narrative Statement. Parkway Gardens, Chicago, IL

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Cleopatra Copeland
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1 Attachment #5 - Narrative Statement In 2013, Related Companies completed a $106 million rehabilitation of the Parkway Garden Homes in Chicago, Illinois, one of the country s largest privately-financed post-war affordable housing developments. The two-year project, which preserved the historic 35-building complex and provided much needed upgrades for residents, was financed using a combination of federal historic rehabilitation tax credits, low-income housing tax credits, and tax exempt bonds. The completed rehabilitation has preserved nearly 700 units of much-needed affordable housing in Chicago and prepared the historic Parkway Garden Homes for another half-century of use. Site History Constructed between 1950 and 1955, the Parkway Garden Homes was one of the country s largest privately-financed post-war affordable housing developments and the first in the city of Chicago to be cooperatively owned and operated by African Americans. Designed by pioneering Chicago architect and planner Henry K. Holsman, the 13-acre complex, comprised of 694 cooperatively-owned apartment homes in 35 masonry buildings with landscaped grounds, parking, and play areas, was lauded by midcentury civil rights and housing advocates as a model for future urban affordable housing developments. For nearly 60 years, Parkway Gardens eleven eight-story elevator buildings and twenty-four three-story walkups have housed thousands of low-income Chicagoans including First Lady Michelle Robinson Obama, who lived at Parkway Gardens with her extended family in the mid-1960s. While Parkway Gardens remains a tangible reminder of the post-war transformation of Chicago s South Side Black Belt and a stable and affordable community built by and for African American families, the recent history of the site has not been so positive. The property transformed in the 1980s from cooperative ownership to single ownership. Years of absentee owners and deteriorating neighborhood conditions transformed Parkway Gardens from a beacon of hope into a community held hostage by violence, distrust and despair. In 2011, Parkway Gardens was purchased by Related Companies with a goal to transform the property once again into a safe, secure and hopeful place to raise families. Related engaged MacRostie Historic Advisors LLC to see Parkway Gardens through the process of individual listing in the National Register of Historic Places and through the federal historic rehabilitation tax credit application process which provided a critical funding source for the proposed rehabilitation project. Rehabilitation Scope & Challenges The $106 million rehabilitation of the Parkway Garden Homes included extensive exterior and interior building repairs, comprehensive systems upgrades, and major site work. Conditions left by the previous owners were very poor. Sanitary systems had been leaking into basement crawl spaces for years. Insect and rodent infestation both in units and throughout the buildings was nearly universal. On-site security issues were rampant. Paramount to the success or failure of the project would be to reverse the residents distrust of the ownership, brought on by years of minimal maintenance and unresponsiveness by the previous owners. The comprehensive rehabilitation was completed according to the Secretary of the Interior s Standards for Rehabilitation. Exterior masonry facades on all of the complex s 35 buildings were repointed, deteriorated concrete entrance canopies, window surrounds, and rear stair landings were restored, and the facades distinctive concrete relief sculptures were retained and protected. Existing non-historic aluminum windows were replaced, and new reflective membrane roofing systems installed complexwide. Inside the residential structures, units and common corridors received new paint, flooring and lighting and kitchens and bathrooms were updated with new cabinets and fixtures. The eleven mid-rises saw the installation of new passenger elevators and the alteration of thirty-six units to comply with ADA

2 accessibility requirements, more than doubling the total number of accessible residential units within the complex. The site underwent a major systems upgrade, including the updating of all electrical and plumbing systems and the installation of completely new district heating system. Extensive site improvements addressed persistent flooding issues and updated the site s green spaces and parking lots while maintaining historically significant landscape features. Important neglected community spaces were also rehabilitated. A community room which provides space for adult education and after school programs received new flooring, paint, furniture and two new accessible bathrooms. The community laundry room was upgraded and expanded. In addition, exterior spaces that were integral to the original design, but neglected for years, were reinvigorated. New playground equipment was installed within the two original play lots, raised concrete flower beds were repaired and replanted, and broken sidewalks were replaced and augmented. New community barbeque areas were installed and a community gardening area was also established. Parkway remained a functioning affordable housing site during the entire two-year rehabilitation. The ongoing presence of residents during rehabilitation presented unique challenges for the project team. Working together with the residents, the team was able to orchestrate a phased rehab that minimized the disruption of the lives of the residents of Parkway Garden Homes. Financing Related s $106 million rehabilitation of Parkway Garden Homes was funded by a $59.5 million dollar loan, $4 million in interim income from the ongoing operations, $5.8 million in deferred developer fee, $9.9 million in federal historic rehabilitation tax credit equity and $26.6 million in federal low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) equity. Ultimately, the project received $9.6 million in federal historic rehabilitation tax credits and $3.1 million in annual LIHTC credits. Without the opportunity to use both historic and low-income housing tax credits, this project would not have been possible. Affordability of Housing at Parkway Gardens In addition to the funding sources described above, the project benefits from a Housing Assistance Program (HAP) contract covering 100% of the units. As well as adhering to income restrictions under the HAP contract, tenants must meet LIHTC criteria, which specify that 100% of the revenue-generating units (all 694 units) be set-aside at or below 60% of the area median income (AMI) for the next 30 years and that the tenants pay no more than the tax credit maximum rents for that set-aside in the Chicago area. Under the existing HAP contract, almost all units are occupied by families at or below 50% of the AMI. A bond issuance by the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) also restricts the affordability of the project for the 30 year term of IHDA bonds through a regulatory agreement that was executed at the 2011 property purchase closing stipulating that at least 40% of the units must be rented to families at or below 60% of AMI. At Parkway, resident rent levels always follow the more restrictive of these affordability requirements. Rehabilitation Success and Community Impact The two-year rehabilitation at Parkway Garden Homes has repaired and restored the project s 60 year-old facades and updated the homes of the site s many residents. In addition to seeing cosmetic updates, the project is now safer and more energy efficient. Resident occupancy has remained consistently high at Parkway during and after rehabilitation, reflecting the local Woodlawn community s need for affordable housing, the public s continued attraction to the rich history of the complex, and the ongoing viability of the project. Parkway Garden Homes began its life in the 1950s as a model affordable housing project. Its recent rehabilitation ensures that it will continue to serve low income urban Chicagoans for decades to come.

3 1. Parkway Gardens pre-rehabilitation Parkway Gardens pre-rehabilitation

4 3. Parkway Gardens pre-rehabilitation Parkway Gardens pre-rehabilitation

5 5. Parkway Gardens post-rehabilitation

6 6. Parkway Gardens post-rehabilitation Parkway Gardens post-rehabilitation

7 8. Parkway Gardens post-rehabilitation Parkway Gardens post-rehabilitation

8 10. Parkway Gardens post-rehabilitation

9 11. Parkway Gardens post-rehabilitation Laundry room 12. Parkway Gardens post-rehabilitation Community room

New York State Office and Historic Homeownership Rehabilitation Tax Credit

New York State Office and Historic Homeownership Rehabilitation Tax Credit NEW YORK STATE OFFICE OF PARKS, RECREATION AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION HISTORIC HOMEOWNERSHIP REHABILITATION TAX CREDIT APPLICATION: PART 1 DISCLAIMER : The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and