Chicago: Construction Set for Spring for HIV/AIDS Residence

The transfer of four-city owned lots to AidsCare Inc. goes before City Council Thursday and, if approved, will complete a two-year effort by the nonprofit organization to assemble 30 parcels to build an HIV/AIDS campus in North Lawndale in Chicago.

The $15 million facility will have three buildings with 64 housing units for HIV/AIDS residents, including families headed by women with HIV/AIDS. It will also include two support service buildings, a wellness center, multipurpose building, and other medical services.

AidsCare provides housing and supportive services for people with HIV/AIDS. Since 1996, it has operated a resident facility for people with HIV/AIDS on the west side of Chicago, which also serves as the organization's headquarters. AidsCare Director Jim Flossi said he is looking for a partner to run a dental clinic and another to run a pharmacy on the campus.

Flossi stressed that the Department of Planning and Development was helpful in securing the land, but the assembling process was cumbersome. Planning Department officials agreed to transfer 23 vacant city-owned parcels to AidsCare for the project, but spent months claiming title to the other four lots -- two from unknown private owners through the city's Tax Reactivation Program and another two through a land swap with the Chicago Housing Authority.

Construction of the first three residential buildings will begin in early spring, according to Katie Grand of Oak Park-based Grand Consulting, development consultant to AidsCare. The buildings will have one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Financing for the first building will include a $3.1 million grant from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development and a $500,000 grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago.

Applicants will have to satisfy HUD qualifications, earning no more than $30,150 for a family of two and $37,700 for a family of four. Additionally, AidsCare requires that the adult head of the family be diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.

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