Morgan Park Commons Residential And Retail Project Moves ‘One Step Closer’ To Reviving Vacant Site
By Atavia Reed for Block Club Chicago
Phase one of the project, which is estimated to cost more than $65 million, will bring two affordable housing buildings with 70 studio to two-bedroom units, a 2-acre park and performance arts center to long-vacant land.
MORGAN PARK — A Far South Side organization’s long-awaited plan to repurpose a vacant grocery store into affordable housing and retail space has moved forward after approval from the city’s Plan Commission last week.
Plan Commission members on Thursday approved a rezoning of land at 115th and Halsted streets, paving the way for Morgan Park Commons, a transit-oriented affordable housing and retail project that will include a performance arts center and a 2-acre park that connects to the Major Taylor Trail.
The approval brings nonprofit Far South Community Development Corporation one step closer to transforming the nearly 13-acre site, which housed a former Jewel-Osco grocery store that sat vacant for 15 years, said Ald. Ronnie Mosley (21st), whose ward includes the development.
The site was also once home to the now-demolished Halsted Mall and a parking lot that was considered as a site for a tent camp for migrants in 2023.The Far South Community Development Corporation owns half of the property, while the city owns the rest.
The project will be the “first mixed-used development along Far South Halsted in more than half a century,” according to a presentation shared during the Plan Commission meeting.
Morgan Park Commons will be constructed in phases, said Lesley Roth, principal at Lamar Johnson Collaborative/Architect.
Phase one will include two residential buildings with 70 apartments, made up of studio to two-bedroom units and live/work units. The buildings will also include ground-floor retail, a total 81 car parking spaces and 36 bike racks, Roth said. Of the 81 parking spaces, eight will be fully accessible.
Sixty-six of the 70 units will be affordable, said Steve Friedland, attorney at Applegate & Thorne-Thomsen. The Far South Community Development Corporation has partnered with the Preservation of Affordable Housing for the development process.
Sixty-two apartments will qualify for people earning 60 percent or less of the area median income, and four apartments will be available for residents earning 30 percent or less of the area median income.
As part of the first phase, developers will construct a stormwater detention facility, Friedland said. Developers will collaborate with the city’s Department of Transportation to dedicate new city streets — West 114th Place and South Peoria Street — and widen and improve an existing “glorified alley” on West 114th Street.
Construction of the first phase is estimated to cost over $65 million, Friedland said. Developers will begin by creating the new streets before building the residential units, he said.
Later phases of the development will include the arts center and park. The rezoning of the property will allow for up to 244 apartments at the site, according to city documents.
The 21st Ward predominantly has single-family homes, Mosley said. With the creation of Morgan Park Commons, the ward can become a “real rental market.”
“Whether you’re a new family that is looking to live in the 21st Ward, or you’ve been a long-term resident that is looking to age in place and downsize a bit, we are communicating that, here, there’s still a place for you,” Mosley said.
The vacant grocery store has been an eyesore for 15 years, Mosley said. Every year of the 15, neighbors were told that “something is coming.”
“Today, we are one step closer to actually delivering something that is going to be a catalyst project for the entire region,” Mosley said.