Villa Guadalupe Senior Services, Inc.
In 1991, Claretian Associates developed Villa Guadalupe, a 53-unit apartment building for those over age fifty-five. Villa Guadalupe was the first new residential construction in South Chicago in over 10 years and continues to be the catalyst for the development of single-family homes, new apartments and neighborhood improvement projects.
To ensure the rents would remain affordable over the life of the building, Claretian Associates raised $1.5 million for an endowment fund. Through interest income from the endowment and subsidies from Chicago Family Choice vouchers and the Chicago Low-Income Housing Trust Fund, rents continue to be modest for those with limited financial resources. For more information about Villa Guadalupe, please call 773-933-0344.
South Chicago People’s Park
During 1997-2000, Claretian Associates' Clean and Green Committee developed South Chicago People's Park, located at three previously blighted lots at a highly visible intersection of 91st Street and Buffalo Avenue. In 1970 People's Park was the site of a fatal accident that claimed the lives of three South Chicago residents and the site was abandoned and avoided. Over the following years, the site was used as a dumping ground and became overgrown. A leaking water line kept the corner a virtual swamp. In 2000, after three years, 3,000 resident volunteer hours, and 200 cubic yards of garbage removed the lots were successfully transformed into South Chicago People's Park.
It is now a community gathering place with flowers, trees, a stage, decorative park benches and a mosaic mural created by community youth. South Chicago People's Park won the 1999 Chicago Botanic Garden's “Garden of the Year Award” for community gardens and in 2001 it was one of eight nationwide parks to win the John Deere "Seeds of Hope Award." For more information about the park or for permission to use the space for an event, please contact Lupe at 773-734-9181.
Rehab South Chicago
In 1997, Claretian Associates completed renovation of an eight-unit building on east 91st Street, creating affordable apartments for low-income families. The project was made possible through a combination of grants and permanent low-interest loans including the Amoco Leader Award which covered the cost of the building and other predevelopment work. Claretian Associates' general contractor used the rehabilitation project to train and employ fifteen local residents in the construction trades. In 1998, the development received the Federal Home Loan Bank's “Community Partnership Award.” Claretian Associates owns and oversee the management of the building.
New Homes for South Chicago, Phases I & II
Claretian Associates, in conjunction with the City of Chicago Department of Housing's New Homes for Chicago program, built and sold twenty new single-family homes from 1993-1999. Claretian Associates provided pre- and post-purchase counseling-insuring the long-term success for the first-time homeowners. The Department of Housing and the Federal Home Loan Bank provided subsidies to insure that the homes were affordable to low-income families. The majority of the new homeowners are life-long South Chicago residents and have emerged as leaders in the effort to revitalize South Chicago.
South Chicago Art Center
The creation of the Art Center in 2001 reflects Claretian Associates' holistic approach to building community in South Chicago. After three successful years of providing free arts programming to local young people under our auspices, the Art Center is flourishing as its own 501-c-3 non-profit organization. For more information about the Art Center, please call 773-731-9287 or visit them at www.happyartcenter.org.
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