East Garfield Park gets 50 affordable apartments with $11.5 million in TIF

Harvest Homes II, approved 49-0 on Oct. 14, would be finished at Jackson and Homan in 2028 at a cost of about $797,600 per apartment.

By Chicago PoliticsUpdated Oct 20, 2026

Ald. Jason C. Ervin (28th Ward), shown in an inset, speaks for Harvest Homes II at the Committee on Finance as members sit at the dais, Oct. 13, 2026City of Chicago video

Vacant lots at Jackson Boulevard and Homan Avenue in East Garfield Park are set to become 50 affordable apartments. On Oct. 14 the Chicago City Council voted 49 to 0 to back Harvest Homes II with up to $11.5 million in tax increment financing and up to $11 million in City housing loans. Ald. Monique L. Scott (24th Ward) did not vote.

The ordinance, O2026-0028750, also sells three City-owned lots to the developers for $1 each. The building would cover 3415 to 3449 W. Jackson Blvd. and 3414 to 3456 W. Fifth Ave., in the 28th Ward and the Midwest TIF district.

Every apartment would be income-restricted. Five would rent to households at 30% of the area median income, five at 50% and 40 at 60%, according to the Department of Housing. Three would be permanent supportive housing.

The project shows the trade-off in the City's affordable housing math. Ald. Jason C. Ervin (28th Ward) pointed to heavy demand, but each new apartment here costs close to $800,000 to build, with more than 90% of the money coming from the City or from tax credits.

"This is going to make an excellent addition to the East Garfield Park community. The last time we did an affordable development, we had over a thousand applications for 40 units."

Ald. Jason C. Ervin (28th Ward), Committee on Finance, Oct. 13, 2026

No member spoke against the project at the committee or on the Council floor. The questions were about cost.

What changes on my block?

The plan is a new three-story walk-up elevator building of about 65,000 square feet, with no basement. It would hold 19 one-bedroom, 20 two-bedroom and 11 three-bedroom apartments, according to a presentation by Anna Booth of the Department of Housing.

The ground floor would have retail space, which Ervin described as a food court with three local restaurants. The plan also includes community space, offices for resident services, 11 parking spaces, indoor and outdoor bike parking, and a rooftop terrace.

Along Jackson Boulevard, a public plaza would have seat walls, landscaping, a children's play area and a garden. The site is bounded by Jackson on the north, Homan on the east, Fifth Avenue on the south and St. Louis Avenue on the west.

Harvest Homes I, a 36-apartment building by the same team, stands just to the west. Booth said the site is near CTA buses on Jackson and Homan and about three-quarters of a mile from the Blue Line.

The project is expected to create about 60 construction jobs and about 20 permanent jobs once the stores open, Booth said. The team must meet the City's 26% minority-owned and 6% women-owned contracting requirements.

Booth said the building is designed to score 100 points under the City's sustainable development policy, with Energy Star appliances and solar-ready construction.

Ald. Jason C. Ervin on Harvest Homes II Committee on Finance, Oct 13, 2026 · 33:52–34:48

What it costs

Booth put the total development cost at about $39.8 million, or $797,616 per apartment. She cited the small number of units, shifting interest rates, labor and materials, and time: the developers have worked on it since 2020.

The TIF covers about 29% of the cost. Tax credit equity of about $15.8 million is the largest source. A Department of Housing loan of about $9.1 million covers 23%, Booth said; the ordinance caps it at $11 million.

Smaller pieces include a first mortgage of about $2 million, a ComEd grant of about $323,000 and $322,803 in equity from Illinois donation tax credits. The donation credits come from the land, Booth explained.

The seven lots were appraised together at $1,120,000. Three belong to the City, two came from the Cook County Land Bank and two are owned by the nonprofit partner. Selling the City lots for $1 lets their value count toward the financing instead of the cost, she said.

Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd Ward) asked for the total and per-unit costs. Ald. William Conway (34th Ward) asked what the developers got for the tax credits; the answer was 88.5 cents on the dollar.

How did it get here?

The developers are the NHP Foundation, a nonprofit incorporated in Washington, D.C., with about 19,000 affordable apartments, and the People's Community Development Association of Chicago, a nonprofit affiliated with the People's Church of the Harvest. Their first application, in 2021, was not chosen. They reapplied in the City's 2023 funding round.

Booth said the project went through the Plan Commission and the zoning committee in 2025 and the Community Development Commission in July 2026, and that community meetings were held in March 2025 and June 2026. The Committee on Finance recommended it on Oct. 13.

The Midwest TIF district is shared by three wards, Booth said: Ervin's, Scott's and that of Ald. Walter R. Burnett (27th Ward).

Scott and Burnett sent letters of support, she said. Scott did not vote when the ordinance reached the Council floor.

"Also, the advent of the food court in this where we have three local restaurants that are participating. All of this with African American general contractors and the whole kit and caboodle right in the East Garfield Park community."

Ald. Jason C. Ervin (28th Ward), Committee on Finance, Oct. 13, 2026

What happens next?

Besides the TIF and the loan, the ordinance lets the City pass Illinois affordable housing tax credit proceeds to the project and names Harvest Homes II Apartments LLC as the developer, Booth said.

The goal is to close the financing by the end of the year, Booth said. Construction would start in the first quarter of 2027 and finish in the third quarter of 2028.

Income limits and maximum rents for the apartments are set each year by HUD, and tenants pay based on their income, not market rents. The record does not say when or how applications will open.

Residents who want to apply or follow the project can contact the 28th Ward office. Ervin said the last affordable development drew more than a thousand applications for 40 units.

How each ward voted

49 yea, 1 not voting · Oct 14, 2026 · Passed

Yea Nay Not voting

O2026-0028750: the roll call, the timeline and the documents