Bernard Place Approaches "Phase Two"

January 2007 – CHICAGO - In the continuing effort to fuel revitalization of the Englewood neighborhood, The St. Bernard Housing Development Corporation’s affordable housing development has reached Phase II, with groundbreaking scheduled this spring. In addition to the 63 homes built during the first phase of Bernard Place, fifteen more homes will be constructed in 2007, with up to thirty more homes slated for Phase III.

As part of the next wave of restoring community economic health, eleven single-family homes and four two-flats will be built on vacant land in the block bounded by 64th and 65th Streets, between Harvard and Steward Avenues. Phase II is possible through a partnership formed by the St. Bernard Housing Development Corporation and Park Bank Initiatives, the community development arm of Park National Bank.

The development is a result of St. Bernard’s participation with the City of Chicago Department of Housing’s New Homes for Chicago program. Eighty percent of the homes built in Bernard Place are sold as affordable housing to buyers who earn well below the city’s median family income level. New Homes for Chicago underwrites some of the development costs and provides purchase price assistance, allowing qualified buyers to take advantage of resulting discounts.

Twenty percent of the homes will sell at market rate and are available to any buyer.

The homes are designed to re-establish community within the Englewood area and serve as a catalyst for other developments. Anchored by the hospital, several congregations, and senior housing, Bernard Place features spacious yards and inviting front porches. New homeowners benefit from an extensive buyer education program, designed to enhance their ability to cultivate homeowner skills and maintain their properties.

Overall, Bernard Place represents the largest undertaking to date by the New Homes program. It marks the first new for-sale housing to be built in Englewood in 30 years. In 2004, the development won The Richard H. Driehaus Award for Non-Profit Neighborhood Real Estate Projects, a Chicago Neighborhood Development Award.