City green-lights developers' plan for mixed-use development in Roseland

Chicago Tribune

15 hours ago

Mayor Brandon Johnson has selected a group of neighborhood developers to replace a plot of vacant city land on the Far South Side with a four-story, mixed-use development called 1Fifteen at Michigan Station.
It will create 58 affordable apartments and 23,000 square feet of retail, including a grocery store, on the southwest corner of Michigan Avenue and 115th Street in Roseland.
Launching the $48 million project could help spark an economic revival along this section of Michigan Avenue, where decades of factory closings, job losses and disinvestment left a lot of empty storefronts, said Abraham Lacy, president of the Far South Community Development Corp., one of the developers.
'Michigan Avenue was the Magnificent Mile of the Far South Side 50 years ago,' he said. 'Back then, it was the talk of the town.'
The upcoming launch of the more than $5 billion extension of the CTA's Red Line, which will include a new Michigan Avenue stop near 116th Street, adjacent to 1Fifteen at Michigan Station, makes it a perfect time to build new shops and housing, said David Doig, president of Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives, another member of the winning development team.
'You've got to have a few leaders to kick things off,' he said. 'If we can prove this up, I think you'll definitely see more development around this station as well as the other new CTA stops.'
Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives is best known for helping create jobs at several new manufacturing and distribution centers in nearby Pullman, as well as bringing in new restaurants and retail.
The 1Fifteen at Michigan Station development team also includes Hope Center Foundation, the Roseland-based philanthropic arm of Salem Baptist Church of Chicago. Architectural firms Gensler and Chicago-based Beehyyve designed the project.
'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 Commissioner Ciere Boatright said in a statement.
The vacant lot, once occupied by the now-demolished Roseland Plaza shopping mall, was part of former Mayor Lori Lightfoot's Invest South/West Initiative. The effort sought to spark developers' interest in commercial corridors starved for investment. Several other development teams, including one led by P3 Markets, also put forward proposals for a mixed-use development on the Roseland site.
Community meetings were held to outline the proposals, and one thing often heard from residents of Roseland and the surrounding communities was the need for a grocery store, Lacy said.
'There is not one grocery store in the boundaries of these neighborhoods,' he said.
Lacy and other community leaders have even bigger hopes for Roseland. They backed a proposal by the Roseland Community Medical District Commission for a 480,000-square-foot health care campus at 111th Street and Michigan Avenue, offering outpatient clinics, research facilities, medical offices and retail. The Chicago Plan Commission approved the plan in 2022. The state allocated $25 million in seed money, allowing district commissioners to start buying land for the campus, making infrastructure improvements and pitching the site to health care providers.
'It's about 6 acres, so it's going to take some time,' Lacy said.
The developers won't be able to break ground on 1Fifteen at Michigan Station for at least a year, Doig said. They first need to secure funds from a mix of tax increment financing, bond proceeds, low-income housing tax credits, and possible support from foundations. The developers will also need to secure more city approvals, coordinate plans with the CTA and find retail tenants, Doig said.
'But after three years, I feel like we've finally gotten to the starting line,' he said.