CHICAGO — The AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust (HIT) has provided $32 million in financing toward a $42 million renovation of the 250-unit, 26-story apartment tower at 2101 S. Michigan Ave. in Chicago’s Near South Side.
Built in 1971 with financial assistance from the Federal Housing Administration's grant program for affordable housing, the rehabilitation will include major upgrades to improve its energy efficiency.
The renovation will include a new lobby, community room and on-site laundry facility, as well as energy-efficient appliances and new heating and cooling in the individual units. Rehabilitation work on the aging property will generate approximately 245 union construction jobs.
“As older downtown neighborhoods experience growth with the corresponding demand for housing, it's very important to preserve and update existing units whenever possible,” says Stephanie Wiggins, executive vice president and chief investment officer for Washington, D.C.-based HIT. “The HIT's investment in 2101 South Michigan will help ensure that quality housing near Chicago's downtown Loop, with its employment opportunities and other amenities.”
The apartment building, which is located in Chicago's South Loop neighborhood, includes a mix of studio to three-bedroom apartments with beginning rents ranging from $696 to $1,064 per month, according to Metroplex Inc., the property’s manager.
A Housing Assistance Payment contract administered by the Chicago Housing Authority subsidizes 90 of the building's units, with 39 of those restricted to residents age 62 and older. These units will remain affordable through a HAP contract for another 20 years.
The HIT worked closely with PNC Real Estate and Developers Mortgage Corp. to finance the 2101 South Michigan project. During the last four decades, HIT has invested more than $400 million in 39 Chicago projects that have created or rehabilitated more than 9,000 housing units, of which more than 60 percent are affordable.
In keeping with HIT's labor requirements, all work on the project will be performed under collective bargaining agreements with Chicago's building trades unions. “The jobs are important to our members at a time when unemployment is still much too high,” says Tom Villanova, president of the Chicago and Cook County Building and Construction Trades Council.
HIT’s pension fund investments have helped generate more than $860 million of development activity, while creating approximately 5,400 union construction jobs in the Chicago area. “HIT's union pension investments have helped address the housing and economic development needs of working families in the Chicago area,” says Lesyllee White, senior vice president and managing director of marketing for HIT. “The HIT has financed the production of housing for low- and moderate-income families, while also generating union construction jobs.”
The AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust (HIT) is a fixed-income investment company registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It manages $4.6 billion in assets for more than 360 investors, which include union and public employee pension plans. Since its inception, the HIT has invested more than $6.8 billion to finance approximately 109,000 units of housing nationwide.
— Rachel Goff