North Lawndale housing development breaks ground as part of Chicago’s Missing Middle initiative

A city-led strategy to bring more homes to the South and West Sides took a big leap forward Tuesday.

Citizens Building a Better Community was joined by city officials Tuesday to break ground on seven two-flats in North Lawndale. The homes are the first of 115 market rate units that will be built in the neighborhood, as part of the city’s Missing Middle Infill Housing initiative.

The Missing Middle program launched in fall 2024 with the goal of turning vacant city land into housing for working middle-class families, who are increasingly being priced out of Chicago.

The “missing middle” refers to the hole in the center of a housing supply that often includes more low- and high-density properties like single-family homes and high-rise apartments. Missing middle housing typically isn’t as dense as large-scale apartment towers, but it has room for more people to live than a single-family home. It includes single-family homes with accessory dwelling units, two- and three-flats, row houses, townhouses and six-flats, according to the city.

In North Lawndale, Citizens Building a Better Community’s two-flats will be marketed to buyers earning up to 140% of the area median income. That’s $134,400 for a two-person household, according to the city.

“The [Missing Middle] project reflects exactly what residents have been asking for: Quality housing that working families can afford, and investment that strengthens the neighborhoods without pushing people out,” Ald. Monique Scott (24th) said.

Citizens Building a Better Community, one of five developers for the first round of the initiative, is building the two-flats on vacant lots the city sold to the developer for $1 each. The lots are along the 1400 and 1500 blocks of South Trumbull and Homan avenues and the 3300 block of West Douglas Boulevard. Tuesday’s groundbreaking was held at 3353 W. Douglas Blvd.

The $5.4 million project is an investment in a neighborhood that has “moved from destruction to construction,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said, referencing decades of disinvestment on the South and West Sides.

In addition to selling the lots for $1, the city is providing up to $150,000 per unit in construction funds.

“When city government empowers developers such as [Citizens Building a Better Community] with the funding and tools they need to realize their vision, that’s when real transformation can occur,” Johnson said.

The four additional projects in the program’s first round are expected to break ground this year, according to the city. Alteza Group, Westside Community Group, Beauty for Ashes and Sunshine Management are the other developers. Each developer will transform a cluster of lots in North Lawndale, with clusters containing between five to eight lots.

The five projects collectively include 40 multiunit buildings valued at more than $37 million, according to the city.

The city expanded the Missing Middle program to the South Side in 2025, to the excitement of many local organizations. The expansion includes Chatham, South Chicago and Morgan Park, where 101 units will be built across 31 buildings. The city says it will be a $38.8 million investment on the West Side.

Developers for the program’s third round — which is concentrated in McKinley Park, West Garfield Park and East Garfield Park — are expected to be announced by spring.