News

By Abby Miller, Chicago Sun-Times | July 2nd, 2025 (Click Here For Original Article)

COOK COUNTY, IL — Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle joined the Cook County Land Bank Authority, representatives from Inherentance and other elected officials today to announce the completion of the first two homes that are part of the Cook County Modular Homes Pilot Program. The $12 million initiative is focused on the Humboldt Park neighborhood in Chicago, Chicago Heights and Proviso Township, all communities with limited new home construction.

The Cook County Bureau of Economic Development’s Department of Planning and Development is leading this pilot program, which will see 120 modular homes constructed in the three designated communities.

“These modular homes will provide affordable, quality housing in communities of need, and we are grateful to our many partners for their collaboration,” said President Preckwinkle. “Our hope is this program will make homeownership more accessible for individuals and families and break down financial barriers that have historically kept many families from owning a home.”

Both homes are located on the 800 block of North Homan Avenue in Humboldt Park. They are the first of 12 homes that will be constructed across 12 vacant lots provided by the Cook County Land Bank Authority (CCLBA) in the community.

Those earning up to 120% of the county’s median income are eligible to apply for the Modular Homes Pilot Program. In Disproportionately Impacted Areas and Qualified Census Tracts, there is no income limit.

The CCLBA transferred ownership of 12 vacant lots in Humboldt Park to the nonprofit development company Inherentance, which builds each home in its North Lawndale facility on the West Side of Chicago over an eight-week period, then transports them to the vacant lots. Several other homes in Humboldt Park are near completion.

“Our mission has always been to make homeownership accessible and sustainable and we are thrilled to be part of this groundbreaking initiative to transform vacant lots into beautiful, affordable homes,” said Inherentance Founder Tim Swanson. “By using modular construction, we’re not only delivering homes faster but also ensuring that they meet the highest standards of quality and sustainability. As each stage of the project progresses, we are excited to see the vibrancy we can bring to the entire community.”

Modular homes are pre-built in sections within a controlled environment and are transported to the site to be fully assembled. These homes are designed to exceed local building codes and energy standards and are evaluated by local inspection teams across Cook County. The modular approach protects construction from weather-related delays, minimizes waste and speeds up the home-construction process.

“The modular homes pilot is an innovative step toward addressing the housing gap by turning underutilized lots into high-quality, affordable homes,” said Jessica Caffrey, executive director of the Cook County Land Bank Authority. “By partnering with developers like Inherentance, we’re not only creating new homeownership opportunities but also investing in the long-term stability and growth of communities like Humboldt Park.”

The 12 homes in Humboldt Park will each be 1,445 square feet, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms across two floors. They will be all-electric, with Google Smart Home technology throughout, and include two parking spaces and a fenced-in yard. Homeowners will also have the option to customize the finishes of their new home.

Prospective homeowners can apply for several financial assistance programs, including the Cook County Down Payment Assistance Program, which provides subsidies of 5 percent of the home’s sale price or $25,000, whichever is less. Homebuyers can also apply for the CCLBA’s Purchase Assistance Program, which helps remove the barriers that prospective homeowners might have faced otherwise by providing them with a grant of up to 6 percent of the purchase price of the home–capped at $20,000.

Mortgage payments for each home will vary depending on subsidy amounts.

For more information on the Cook County Modular Homes Pilot Program, visit cookcountyil.gov/service/modular-homes-pilot-program.

BMO, Austin Coming Together, By the Hand Club for Kids and public officials are partners in the project

By Jessica Mordacq, Austin Weekly News | April 9th, 2025 (Click Here For Original Article)

Habitat for Humanity has broken ground on its first project in Austin.

On April 7, the national housing nonprofit, Austin-based partner organizations and public officials gathered at 5320 W. Ferdinand St. to celebrate the start of construction on four affordable homes there, plus three in the 400 block of North Lockwood Avenue.

All homes will be 1,800-square-foot, two-story structures. Each will have four bedrooms, a two-car garage and energy-efficient appliances.

The homes will be sold at an appraised market value, and Habitat Chicago will help homebuyers with down payment assistance and further subsidize the sale. Habitat Chicago will sell the houses through its Affordable Homeownership Program and provide financial and homeownership education.

The Lockwood Avenue homes’ foundations will be poured in late spring or early summer and are expected to be completed next spring. Then, construction will begin on Ferdinand Street, estimated to finish in spring 2027, according to Block Club Chicago.

The houses will be constructed on property that came from the Cook County Land Bank Authority, which acquires vacant and abandoned properties and makes them available for organizations to purchase. In 2020, the county government entity entered into an agreement with By the Hand Club for Kids, which bought the property from the county.

“There’s nothing more important for an abundant life than to have a healthy family. What better way to provide or promote a healthy family life than to have that family reside in a quality, stable home,” said Felicia Bullock, chief financial officer of the Austin-based, Christ-centered, after-school program for children in kindergarten through high school.

The construction is just the start of Habitat for Humanity’s effort to build affordable homes in Austin.

“When we make a commitment to a neighborhood, it’s not just the start, it’s where we’re going to go for the distance,” said Jennifer Parks, executive director of Habitat for Humanity Chicago. “It’s a marathon, and we’re going to be here for years and years to come to layer those investments.”

One of Habitat Chicago’s partner organizations, BMO, is investing $1 million over the next five years to help advance Habitat for Humanity’s work in Austin. Community partners hope that building more affordable homes will allow Austin residents to stay in their neighborhood.

“I’m looking to do, not only these lots. I’ve got my eyes on more than that because I want the residents to stay in the 37th Ward,” said Ald. Emma Mitts. “I don’t want to see people displaced.”

Mitts said she’s helped Habitat for Humanity host community meetings to inform locals about the new residences and encourage first-time home buyers to purchase these homes or future ones. Officials said they plan to advertise the new homes to legacy residents in Austin.

“If we don’t get housing right, we don’t get anything else right,” said Tara Stamps, Cook County board commissioner for the 1st District. “If we don’t house our people and make it affordable, then the job fairs, the recovery programs, the recidivism rate, our children in crises – none of that ends if our people are not housed. This is the most essential, most incredible work that we can be doing.”

Habitat in Chicago

Though Habitat for Humanity has been in Chicago for decades, its home-building efforts have been concentrated on the South Side. The organization started construction in West Pullman, where it has built 40 homes since 2012, and has also constructed residences in Greater Grand Crossing.

Though this groundbreaking marks the first Habitat for Humanity homes built in Austin, the organization has had a presence on the West Side through its neighborhood grants.

According to Parks, Habitat Chicago hopes its role in Austin will strengthen the local buying market, connect the community, elevate the neighborhood’s appeal, and enhance the physical environment – characteristics that haven’t always existed on the West Side.

Darnell Shields, executive director of Austin Coming Together, said that ACT started as lead agency in the Chicago Neighborhood Recovery Program in 2012. At that time, he said that deciding what to do with the Ferdinand Street and Lockwood Avenue properties was difficult because of public safety and housing issues. But the lots’ location near the El, Austin Town Hall Park and Levin Park is prime for families.

“Over the years, we’ve really seen some things change,” he said. “We’ve seen people mobilize and come together to be able to move something forward.”

Much of that can be attributed to growing development on Chicago’s West Side. Since ACT established its Quality of Life Plan in 2018, the nonprofit has helped attract $250 million in investments into Austin – of which this Habitat for Humanity project is one.

“I believe these achievements underscore the power of our collective action – working together [with the] city, county, state, community organizations, residents, leaders, and all of our partners,” Shields said. “Building on this momentum, our current joint efforts focus on high-quality and affordable housing options through this project.”

Shields is a member of the board of directors of Growing Community Media, the publisher of Austin Weekly News.

Such development efforts are also top-of-mind for city and county officials.

“Infill development is among the city’s top priorities for the South and West Sides. It’s projects like this that make a difference, lot by lot and block by block,” said Ciere Boatright, commissioner of Chicago’s Department of Planning and Development. “DPD is supporting local projects with about $40 million in development assistance to strengthen synergies between Austin’s residential blocks and its commercial corridors.”

“When folks have access to affordable, quality housing options, they have more flexibility to support local businesses that make our neighborhoods truly unique,” said Lisette Castañeda, Chicago’s Department of Housing commissioner.

Those interested in buying a Habitat Chicago home can complete a self-assessment at habitatchicago.org/self-assessment.

By Dave Marzullo, WGN Radio 720 | March 7th, 2025 (Click Here For Original Article and Listen to the Recorded Discussion)

By Darius Johnson & Edie Kasten, CBS News Chicago | January 3rd, 2025 (Click Here For Original Article and To See the Video Broadcast)

CHICAGO (CBS) — In life, making the wrong decision can often lead you to the wrong places, but a Chicago non-profit believes everyone deserves another chance, and two people are living proof that Cleanslate changes lives.

“I went to prison for fraud for a long time. I was a real estate broke. I closed my office in I believe it was about ’92, ’93, and I started doing fraud,” said Sam Lovett, senior manager of business operations for Cleanslate.

After two years in state prison, Lovett went to federal prison.

“When the federal judge sentenced me to the five years, he put something on my mind,” he said. “And I really thought about it. I’m going to end up dying in prison if I come back, so I made a determination that I was going to change.”

Lovett found that change when he was released in 2017 at the age of 57. That change was Cleanslate.

“Cleanslate, it means a new start to me, a new start, a clean slate, because a lot of individuals coming home don’t believe they will get a second chance,” he said.

Cleanslate is a non-profit that provides training and salaried transitional jobs. Participants earn an income while developing skills they need for permanent employment.

“We work with over almost 100 or more employment partners, where we help get them to a permanent job. We work directly with employment partners like CTA Second Chance, ADM, Lurie Children’s Hospital,” Lovett said. “You start in the workforce program, where you develop the competencies of time management, communications, and things of that nature.”

In the end, they earn a full-time job, but the path can be challenging.

“It wasn’t easy. I had to humble myself out in the street with a broom and dustpan, and with a shiny vest,” Lovett said.

Cleanslate participant Joshua Phillips now wears the same kind of vest.

“I went to prison. First, I was outside. I was selling drugs, doing whatever I was doing, and went to prison, ended up going to jail for a gun case,” he said.

In 2023, after nearly two decades in prison, Phillips knew he couldn’t go back to the same hustle or lifestyle in Englewood.

“When I got out of jail, I ended up running into Cleanslate and Cleanslate made my life change. They gave me a job, they provided housing,” he said.

For the first time, he was creating a new life, a different life, but not just for himself.

“I have to have something for my family. You know, I got kids, so I need an endgame. You know, you gotta have an endgame. There was no endgame at first, but Cleanslate provided that,” he said.

It also provided him with a broom to sweep two days a week, and a notebook to attend class.

Now he’s cleaning homes provided to Cleanslate by the Cook County Land Bank Authority, which focuses on remodeling vacant, abandoned, and tax delinquent properties in disinvested neighborhoods.

“We get those properties, and we make them available for developers, non-profits, and community members to revitalize them and make them back into productive use,” Cook County Land Bank Authority executive director Jessica Caffrey said.

Throughout the 10-year partnership, Cleanslate has become one of the Land Bank’s biggest vendors, with over 400 properties that have provided more than 250 jobs.

“Together we’re reducing recidivism, we’re allowing traditional jobseekers to get jobs, we’re giving people a second chance,” Caffrey said.

Lovett worked his way up within Cleanslate, and now seven years later he’s the senior business manager of operations.

“I elected to stay instead of moving forward, because I thought, well I knew that I could help other people, and that was my goal, so I stayed at Cleanslate,” he said.

He’s helped many people, but not all of them make it. Phillips has, and the two men have become good friends.

“I’m proud of him, I’m proud of him. He stuck with the program,” Lovett said.

“My wife tells me, my kids tell me, my mother tells me. So yes, I’m very proud of myself,” Phillips said.

Both Lovett and Phillips know they’re now in the right place.

“When you get sick and tired of doing the same thing every day, you’re gonna change, and that’s what happened,” Phillips said.

“Never give up hope,” Lovett said. “There was a second chance for me, and at 57. So there is a second chance for everyone.”

Cleanslate and its parent organization, Cara Collective, have helped more than 15,000 people find jobs and a new path. For more information, visit the Cleanslate website.

By Esther Yoon-Ji Kang, WBEZ Chicago | October 4th, 2024 (Click Here For Original Article)

By Atavia Reed, Block Club Chicago | October 7th, 2024 (Click Here For Original Article)

AUBURN GRESHAM — When local developer Tytus Henry bought a home from the Cook County Land Bank Authority to remodel in 2021, he had one request. 

“I wanted it to be a challenging project,” Henry said. 

Standing outside the refurbished Auburn Gresham home Thursday morning, Henry dabbed sweat from his forehead with a small towel while peering up at his creation.

“And this was definitely what I asked for.” 

Local officials and leaders at the Cook County Land Bank Authority joined Henry Thursday to celebrate the completion of the single-family home at 8514 S. Peoria Ave. 

The four-bedroom, four-bath Victorian home is the 2,000th Cook County Land Bank Authority property to be redeveloped in the organization’s 10-year history. 

The Cook County Land Bank Authority bought the vacant property in 2019. The 4,500-square-foot home was built in 1890. 

Henry, owner of Lion Heart Construction, bought the home from the land bank in 2021 for $40,000, he said. He began working on the property at the end of 2022 after completing projects for other investors. 

What followed over the next two years was “blood, sweat, tears and a lot of sleepless nights,” Henry said. 

“Tytus worked to turn this abandoned, dilapidated home into a beautiful place that we stand in today,” said Jessica Caffrey, executive director of the Cook County Land Bank Authority.  “In the process, he created jobs, helped launch careers, created tax revenue and put a jewel right here on this block in Auburn Gresham.”

The house needed to be “built from the ground up,” Henry said. That meant adding new studs, electrical wiring, plumbing, HVAC units and flooring to the four-story home. Henry invested about $225,000 in the property, he said. 

Henry grew up with eight brothers and a father who was a carpenter, he said. His father taught him how to work in the trades to complete construction projects, and knowing those skills “cut down a big cost.”

Along the way, Henry had assistance from local youth in the YouthBuild and Bridge to Construction programs offered through Metropolitan Family Services. 

YouthBuild, an alternative education opportunity for people ages 18-24, and Bridge to Construction, a pre-apprenticeship program, help young people learn occupational skills so they can find well-paying jobs. 

At the Peoria Avenue home, Henry taught youth like 19-year-old Nehemiah Triplett and Keyshawn Shuford carpentry skills like house framing and plumbing and electrical work. Triplett and Shuford learned fence posting and how to pour concrete. 

“He made sure we understood what we were learning and took time to teach us,” Triplett said. “It’s not easy work to build a house, but I kept coming back because I knew it was also building my character and helping me build a career.” 

Triplett hopes to become a real estate agent. Working with Henry “gave me another outlet to help further what I want to do to become better,” Triplett said. 

When Henry finishes a project, “all someone has to do is come in, drop their keys and start living in the house without any headaches,” he said. He puts his “heart and soul” into the process.

Henry added a black-and-white color scheme to the Auburn Gresham home “because everyone is doing gray,” he said. The home features a full slab countertop, a butler’s kitchen and a wall-mounted electric fireplace.

Henry completed renovations on the home last month, he said. A new buyer is closing on the home Friday. 

Thursday’s 2000th home celebration coincided with the release of the Cook County Land Bank Authority’s 10-year Economic Impact Analysis. 

In the past decade, the Cook County Land Bank Authority has created over 1,400 jobs, generated more than $58.1 million in community wealth and added over $1.8 billion in economic impact throughout Cook County, according to the study. 

The homebuyer who bought the Peoria Avenue property will receive $20,000 in purchase assistance from the Cook County Land Bank Authority, Caffrey said. 

“The Lank Bank is the key to reversing some of the historic wrongs that have created such extreme inequities in our city and our county, including here in Auburn Gresham,” said county board President Toni Preckwinkle. “Because when we’re talking about home ownership, we’re really talking about safety and shelter, a place to nurture a family, a way to grow generational wealth that can be passed down to future generations.”

Construction on the Victorian home “was a monster, but it was well worth the journey,” Henry said. 

Meeting local young people who “listened, learned and asked a million questions all day and night” was one of the most fulfilling aspects of the project, Henry said. 

Tierra Montgomery, a Roseland native, was inspired by Henry to start a construction company, she said Thursday.

T&C Infinite Remodeling — named after her sons — launched last month. Montgomery is already completing renovations for a client in Morgan Park, she said.  

“It’s rare to be a woman who owns a construction company, and I want to mentor others the way I was mentored,” Montgomery said. “This is a career I truly love, and there’s no shortage of opportunities for someone like me who has a strong work ethic and big goals.”

Henry has three remodeling projects lined up for homes in Auburn Gresham and Englewood, he said. He hopes to launch a nonprofit called Raising Lions to continue mentoring youth in the construction industry. 

“I hope the future homeowner will feel proud that some young people worked on the house,” said Triplett. “Not only does this house look professional, but they can have a peace of mind knowing that we’re not on the streets. We have our own jobs lined up.”