CHA CEO TRACEY SCOTT PRESENTS
AT CITY CLUB OF CHICAGO
On Thursday, March 30, Chicago Housing Authority Chief Executive Officer Tracey Scott appeared at the City Club of Chicago to give a wide-ranging presentation of CHA's recent accomplishments and highlight the agency's upcoming initiatives.

"At every major legacy CHA site, in the past three years, CHA and its partners have been instrumental in over half-billion dollars in investments, creating over 1,000 units of new affordable housing with about 1/3 specifically for families on CHA's waiting lists," CEO Scott said. "If you add in CHA's long-term commitments to Project Based Voucher projects not on CHA land around the city, it's $1.4 billion made possible because of CHA investments. That's 1,700 units under construction with more to come later this year."
 
CHA BOARD APPROVES 50 NEW PROJECT-BASED VOUCHERS IN FOUR CHICAGO COMMUNITY AREAS

CHA’s Board of Commissioners approved 50 new Project-Based Voucher (PBV) units in four Chicago neighborhoods at its March Board Meeting. The 50 new vouchers represent a $37 million commitment over the next 15-30 years.

The developments include Hope Manor Apartments in Humboldt Park, where CHA will provide rental assistance to 10 units to assist homeless veterans; 4715 Western Apartments in Lincoln Square, where CHA will provide rental assistance to 16 units; Chinatown Multifamily Apartments in Armour Square, where CHA will provide rental assistance to 13 units; and UV 700 Apartments in West Town, where CHA will provide rental assistance to 10 units.

Photo: Rendering of Hope Manor Apartments in Humboldt Park.
RESIDENT SPOTLIGHT: UIC MED STUDENT PURSUING HER GOALS
For as long as she could remember, Daijah Pierce was interested in the health care field. But she never expected to get a first-hand view of the profession – until, she was diagnosed with Lupus shortly after starting high school. Lupus, an inflammatory disease caused by the immune system attacking its own tissues, took an excruciating toll. Today, she battles the condition daily. But it has done nothing to dampen her spirit or ambition, as the CHA resident went on to graduate from the Biomedical Engineering Program at Kenwood Academy and is now a sophomore Neuroscience major studying Behavioral Psychology at University of Illinois-Chicago.

“Being a Black woman growing up in Chicago with my diagnosis has given me a first-hand experience of some of the barriers that exist. My goal is to be there for people who look like me so that I can advocate for them and improve their health,” she said. Pierce is a CHA Scholarship recipient and has attended support programs for college students, including January’s Take Flight: Networking and Recruitment event. 
GRADUATE SCHOOL DESIGN TEAMS TACKLE
CHA PROPERTY CHALLENGE
Four finalist teams from national universities are designing solutions for an underdeveloped CHA site as part of HUD's Innovation in Affordable Housing (IAH) Competition. The IAH Competition is a HUD initiative that encourages research and innovation in affordable housing, raises practitioner and future practitioner capacity, and fosters cross-cutting teamwork within design and community development processes. Multidisciplinary teams composed of graduate students in architecture, planning and policy, finance, and other areas have been asked to address social, economic, environmental, design, financial, and construction issues while designing a new development for mixed-income residents on the CHA site located at 420-430 W North Ave.

Teams from University of Illinois-Chicago, Harvard University, University of Texas and University of Maryland visited the site in March. These four teams were selected from a pool of 30 applicant graduate schools last year by a jury of industry experts. They will travel to Washington, D.C. for the final competition event at HUD Headquarters in Washington, DC on April 12.
CHA TOURS LAWSON HOUSE: HISTORIC GOLD COAST PROJECT
CEO Tracey Scott joined the Lawson House Redevelopment Team earlier this month for a walk-through tour of the renovation of Lawson House, a 24-story former YMCA building dating back to 1931 that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The $122 million project, located at 30 W. Chicago Avenue in the Gold Coast, is being transformed into 406 studio apartments with private kitchens and bathrooms.

CHA is providing 100 Project Based Vouchers for the project, which will provide $72 million in rental assistance over 30 years. It is scheduled to be completed in 2024. “Part of what was good about this is that the people who live here are being shown care and dignity from our community. When we talk about mixed-income environments and healthy environments for those of all needs … it’s not just preserving the Gold Coast for those with gold,” CHA CEO Tracey Scott said.