Uptown's Leland SRO is saved from foreclosure. The Council's SRO fund passed 50-0, but members kept asking where the money was

Mercy Housing Lakefront bought the 100-year-old building and plans to renovate in 2027, Block Club reported. Our meeting records trace the Heartland Housing collapse and the City's SRO program.

By Chicago PoliticsUpdated Oct 26, 2026

The Leland, a 100-year-old single-room occupancy building at 1207 W. Leland Ave. in Uptown, will stay affordable after nonprofit Mercy Housing Lakefront bought it out of foreclosure, Block Club Chicago reported Monday. Tenants, organizers and officials, including Ald. Angela Clay (46th) and City Housing Commissioner Lissette Castañeda, marked the rescue at the building last week.

Why it matters: SROs, with small rooms and shared or minimal facilities, are among the cheapest places to live in Chicago and often the last stop before a shelter. A University of Illinois Chicago study found the city lost nearly 40% of its SRO stock between 2014 and 2024, according to Block Club.

What happened

The Leland went into receivership and foreclosure after its former owner, Heartland Housing, dissolved in 2023, putting nearly 140 tenants at risk, Block Club reported. The building failed five City inspections between 2022 and 2024, mostly over its elevator and maintenance, according to City records cited by Block Club. It left foreclosure court in 2025, and City and state housing officials put together grants, tax credits and private money for Mercy Housing's purchase.

Mercy Housing plans a full renovation starting in 2027. The building will go from 137 units to 107, and tenants will pay 30% of their income in rent with support from Chicago Housing Authority and federal vouchers, Block Club reported. Castañeda told Block Club the City must keep working to preserve "as many SROs as possible."

Uptown lost two other SROs last year, the Northmere and the Chatelaine, amid City lawsuits over building conditions, according to Block Club.

What our records add

The Council has backed SRO preservation unanimously. On April 16, 2025, the Council voted 50 to 0 to rename the SRO Preservation Loan Fund the SRO Preservation Fund (SO2025-0015982), continue the program and keep the Community Investment Corporation as its grant administrator. At the Finance Committee five days earlier, Department of Housing staff presented the pilot's results and the request to expand its funding (watch at 2:07:50). Ald. Emma Mitts (37th) asked the department to help with an SRO in her ward under a new owner (2:23:34), and Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th) asked whether the City holds any equity stake in the buildings it helps (2:26:44).

How each ward voted

49 yea · Apr 16, 2025 · Passed

Yea Nay

SO2025-0015982: the roll call, the timeline and the documents

Funding has been a recurring question. In October 2023, a Housing official told the Committee on Housing and Real Estate the SRO program had a three-year commitment of up to $15 million, with about $9 million funded so far (watch at 2:04:42). At the 2025 budget hearings in November 2024, Ald. Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth (48th), whose ward includes part of Uptown, asked when SRO preservation money would be available and raised two Uptown buildings (8:39:43).

The Heartland collapse reached the Council more than once. In September 2024, Housing staff told the Housing Committee that Heartland properties in receivership had run up about $3.2 million in fees as of that June (3:14:12). In June 2025, Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) asked at the Finance Committee who is responsible for making sure subsidized buildings are maintained, and whether Heartland's failure signaled broader risk (3:31:30).

Our records do not show a Council vote specific to the Leland purchase. Block Club reported that the financing came from federal and state grants, tax credits and private funds.

What's next

Renovation is scheduled to begin in 2027. The Department of Housing testifies at the Council's budget hearings on Nov. 4, when members can ask how much the 2027 budget sets aside for SRO preservation (hearing schedule).