The Chicago City Council on September 23, 2026, approved $57.6 million in city subsidies for two affordable housing developments that will add nearly 200 homes in Edgewater and Humboldt Park. The larger award, $35.6 million, will turn the long-vacant Von Humboldt Elementary School into 103 apartments, with offices for the Puerto Rican Cultural Center.
Key Takeaways
- The Von Humboldt conversion at 2620 W. Hirsch St. is now a $95 million project, nearly double the $50.6 million estimate reported in 2022.
- All 103 Von Humboldt apartments will be reserved for households earning no more than 60% of area median income, or $72,900 for a family of four.
- The Von Humboldt subsidy is among the first large disbursements from the city’s Housing and Economic Development Bond, a $1.25 billion borrowing program approved in 2024 to run through 2028.
- In Edgewater, Bickerdike Redevelopment Corp. will build an 11-story, 90-unit affordable building at Broadway near Thorndale Avenue with a $22 million tax increment financing subsidy.
- The Edgewater building will replace a Streets and Sanitation office and yard and include only 16 parking spaces because of its proximity to the CTA Red Line.
A Ten-Year Effort to Reuse a 130-Year-Old Humboldt Park School
The Von Humboldt Elementary School project has been one of Humboldt Park’s longest-running housing stories. The redevelopment was first introduced to the community in 2016, and the City Council approved zoning for it in 2020. The building itself dates back roughly 130 years.
The original plan, known as “Teachers Village,” came from New Jersey-based RBH Group and was modeled on a similar project in Newark. It called for apartments marketed to educators, five market-rate townhomes, retail space and a public plaza. Financing proved to be the persistent obstacle. The city awarded the project $18 million in tax-exempt bonds in 2022, and in 2024 the Chicago Housing Authority expanded its commitment to 61 rental vouchers, worth an estimated $20.7 million over 20 years. Construction still did not begin.
In August 2026, The Community Builders, a national nonprofit housing developer with an existing Chicago portfolio, took over management of the project and entered into a contract to buy the property. Wednesday’s $35.6 million subsidy fills a significant portion of the financing gap that stalled the project for years.
The vacancy carried its own costs. According to the local alderperson, the empty school became a draw for so-called urban explorers who film themselves inside abandoned buildings. The resulting damage and scavenging raised the price of renovation.
What the Von Humboldt Apartments Will Offer
The Von Humboldt redevelopment will include studios and one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. Under the plan the council approved, all 103 units are restricted to households at or below 60% of area median income, a deeper affordability commitment than earlier versions of the project, which mixed 60% and 80% income tiers.
City records also list a fitness room, lounge, party room, dog wash station, bike room and 53 parking spaces. The rising price tag, from $50.6 million in 2022 to $95 million today, reflects what affordable housing developers across Chicago have faced: higher construction costs, interest rates and the multiple layers of public and private financing needed before a shovel can go into the ground.
Puerto Rican Cultural Center Anchors the Building’s Heritage Role
The Von Humboldt building will also house offices for the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, one of the longest-standing cultural institutions in Humboldt Park. Its presence ties the project to the neighborhood’s identity as the historic heart of Chicago’s Puerto Rican community.
That connection matters in a neighborhood where rents have climbed and longtime residents have been priced out. Affordable units paired with a cultural anchor give families with deep roots in Humboldt Park a way to stay near the institutions, businesses and traditions that define the area. The project joins a series of recent affordable developments in the neighborhood, including Hispanic Housing Development Corp.’s 40-unit building at 1237 N. California Ave., which opened in February 2026 and drew about 400 applications.
Edgewater Project Adds 90 Homes Along the Broadway Corridor
The second development approved Wednesday will bring 90 affordable apartments to Edgewater. Bickerdike Redevelopment Corp. plans an 11-story building at 5853 N. Broadway, on a site now occupied by a Streets and Sanitation office and yard. Plans presented to the Chicago Plan Commission in 2025 called for 35 one-bedroom, 40 two-bedroom and 15 three-bedroom units, most reserved for residents earning 60% of area median income or less.
The project relies on a $22 million subsidy from the area’s tax increment financing district. With just 16 parking spaces, the building is designed around transit, sitting steps from the CTA Red Line and several bus routes.
The Edgewater building is one of the first major developments along Broadway since the City Council changed the zoning rules for that commercial corridor to allow more housing. Its progress will serve as an early test of whether those rule changes lead to new homes on the North Side.
Why These Approvals Matter for Chicago’s Housing Supply
Both projects also plan to use city borrowing programs alongside direct subsidies, a sign of how complex affordable housing finance has become in Chicago. Neither development could move forward on private capital alone.
For residents of Humboldt Park and Edgewater, the approvals mean nearly 200 homes at rents tied to income in two neighborhoods where market rents have risen sharply. For the city, they mark the first large-scale use of the Housing and Economic Development Bond on a single project, a test of whether that $1.25 billion program can move stalled developments from approval to construction.
FAQs
What Will Happen to the Von Humboldt Elementary School Building?
The vacant Von Humboldt Elementary School at 2620 W. Hirsch St. will be converted into 103 affordable apartments, with offices for the Puerto Rican Cultural Center and resident amenities.
Who Qualifies for the Von Humboldt Affordable Apartments?
All 103 units are set aside for households earning no more than 60% of Chicago’s area median income, which is $72,900 for a family of four.
How Much City Funding Did the Two Projects Receive?
The projects received $57.6 million combined: $35.6 million from the Housing and Economic Development Bond for Von Humboldt and $22 million in tax increment financing for Edgewater.
Where Is the New Edgewater Affordable Housing Building?
The 90-unit Bickerdike Redevelopment Corp. building will rise at 5853 N. Broadway, near Thorndale Avenue and the CTA Red Line, replacing a Streets and Sanitation facility.
