A $48.3 million mixed-use housing project led by Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives is the winning respondent to a City of Chicago request for qualifications (RFQ) for the southwest corner of Michigan Avenue and 115th Street in Roseland, Mayor Brandon Johnson announced today.

"I congratulate the Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives team on being the winning respondent and thank them for their efforts to serve and revitalize our neighborhoods," Mayor Johnson said. "My administration sees housing as the foundation for safe, affordable and thriving communities, and we are proud to select this mixed-use housing project in a community area that needs further investment."

Consisting of 58 affordable apartments and 23,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space, the four-story 1Fifteen at Michigan Station project will replace two acres of vacant City land adjacent to the CTA’s planned Michigan Avenue Red Line Extension (RLE) station. Twenty-seven units will be affordable for tenants earning 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI), with 30 units for residents at 60% of AMI and 1 unit at 30% AMI.

The project’s ground-floor tenants are expected to include a grocery store, market hall for small businesses and a restaurant. Co-developers for the 97,000-square-foot complex include Far South Community Development Corp. and Hope Center Foundation. The design team includes Gensler and Beehyyve.

“The size and scope of the project is a direct response to the community’s goals, so we’re thrilled to advance a vision that’s been a generation in the making,” Department of Planning and Development (DPD) Commissioner Ciere Boatright said.

Potential City assistance could include Tax Increment Financing, bond proceeds, Low Income Housing Tax Credits and a land write-down. A redevelopment agreement and zoning for the project could be proposed to City Council this fall, with construction potentially starting in 2027.

The property was acquired by the City in phases starting in 2005 following the closure and demolition of Roseland Plaza shopping mall.

The RFQ was issued in December 2022 to leverage transit-oriented development opportunities along the RLE route and to create an anchor for additional commercial corridor investments following decades of disinvestment due to nearby industrial job losses and other factors starting in the early 1970s.

The RFQ produced three responses that were evaluated based on project readiness, financial viability, development team experience and diversity, and input from community representatives, among other criteria.

Due to its prominent location near Roseland’s Michigan Avenue shopping district, the property is identified as a “catalyst site” in the CTA and DPD’s RLE Transit Supportive Development Plan, which was adopted by the Chicago Plan Commission in May 2023.

Parking facilities for building tenants and visitors remain to be determined, pending finalized designs for a CTA parking lot being planned nearby.