Ground broken on more South Side lots to be turned into homes for Reclaiming Chicago initiative

James Williams Jr. and his wife got married last year, and within 12 months had the keys to their first home — something he never imagined was possible.

“My mother and father never owned a home, so I had no reference,” Williams said. “It was something I could never dream of.”

The effort was part of the community-led Reclaiming Chicago campaign, which has drawn $40 million from the city of Chicago, the state and private lenders with the goal of building 2,000 homes on the South and West Sides. It’s spearheaded by the civic coalition United Power for Action and Justice.

More than 80 homes were finished last year as part of the first phase, and 11 have been finished since December.

The organizations involved broke ground Friday on 10 more lots in Roseland. That’s ahead of another 50 in a six-block radius that will be split between the spring and fall of next year. Several of the Cook County Land Bank lots were on the same block where homes were finished late last year.

The group has focused on areas with empty lots, which tend to be areas where there hasn’t been much new housing built in decades, according to Shenita Muse, executive director of the Hope Center Foundation, a coalition member.

“It is putting a belief system into them that homeownership, generational wealth and equity building are attainable to them,” Muse told the Sun-Times.

The homes cost around $230,000, though they come with a $50,000 down payment assistance grant, according to Muse. The group's wait list sits at 400 people, who currently are going through financial education that helps prep the first-time homeowners.

Two issues still face the group: securing more funding, and maintaining taxes for the new homeowners and those in homes around them.

Escrow accounts were set up for the new homeowners’ first-year tax bills, and Muse said she’s hopeful an ongoing dialogue with Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s office will help keep the neighborhood’s current residents from seeing drastic property tax increases.

“We are not developers, we are community builders,” Muse said. “At the end of the day that’s what we’re looking for.”

The effort goes beyond just the homes. Williams had gotten connected to the Hope Center Foundation through his church — specifically former state senator and current pastor, James Meeks, one of the Hope Center’s founders — but had lived in the area prior.

Williams has been trying to get the city to help repair the neighborhood’s alleyways after successfully getting them to remove some graffiti. He said he hopes to see the program fill up the rest of the empty lots on his block.

“You can see the neighborhood has been down for a long time,” he said. “But if they keep adding, it brings it up. I just pray and hope they don’t forget about this neighborhood. I know they started it. They need to complete it.”