City approves financing, land transfer for LGBT-friendly senior

The Midwest's first gay and lesbian-friendly, affordable senior housing facility moved a little closer to reality this week as the City Council approved legislation to provide a land transfer and city funding for the project.

The 79-unit, affordable housing senior building will be developed on the corner of Halsted and Addison streets in the Lakeview neighborhood, and incorporates the former Town Hall District police station building.

The legislation authorizes the city to transfer ownership to Heartland Housing and Center on Halsted, the property's developers, a release from Heartland said. It also authorizes the city to lend up to $5 million in HOME dollars to the project. Complete city financing will also include allocations of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and Illinois Affordable Housing Tax Credits.

The new development will preserve a portion of the historic police station building while creating a new building with commercial space on the ground level. The units will be available to all seniors in need of affordable housing, regardless of their sexual orientation, the release said.

"Many seniors, including many within the LGBT community, live on fixed incomes and cannot afford high rents. This building will allow seniors to continue to live and thrive in the community they helped create," said Michael Goldberg, Executive Director of Heartland Housing, a division of Heartland Alliance.

Center on Halsted, which is located adjacent to the development site, will offer resident and community-based services for seniors who will live in the new-construction building, as well as expanding its existing programming for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender seniors.

Heartland Housing and Center on Halsted hope to begin construction in April. Developers will begin taking applications for residency next spring.