City Commission Accepts $15 Million in TIF Funds for Little Village Homeless Shelter

LITTLE VILLAGE — A city commission has approved using up to $15 million in TIF funds to turn an abandoned industrial building in Little Village into a homeless shelter.

Franciscan Outreach wants to buy and renovate the building at 2508-38 W. 21st St., near the border of Little Village and North Lawndale, to turn it into a non-congregational shelter in partnership with the city’s Department of Housing.

The nonprofit operates homeless shelters and was selected by the city as a recipient for the Department of Housing’s noncongregate shelter acquisition program. The Community Development Commission approved Franciscan Outreach on Nov. 12 as the project’s developer.

Franciscan Outreach plans to use the Little Village building to move a shelter, funded by the Department of Family and Support Services, from its current location in the basement of a church. The shelter would provide case management services, access to health care and support in transitioning to permanent housing to people who identify as male, according to the proposal submitted to the city.

The Community Development Commission, which reviews proposals using TIF funds, approved using up to $15 million from the Western/Ogden TIF District to redevelop the building into a 120-bed, non-housing shelter, according to city documents.

Franciscan Outreach plans to build 34 non-congregational units with 84 beds, shared bathrooms and two areas that can be used for emergency shelters for up to 36 people, city ​​documents show.

The city also approved a special-use zoning permit for the transitional shelters, as required by city code, city documents show.

City officials supported Franciscan Outreach’s proposal because it would bring “much-needed services and improved shelter” to people experiencing homelessness, according to letters of support signed by Alds. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25), Monique Scott (24) and Jason Ervin (28) and turned themselves in to the city. The Aldermen also supported using up to $15 million in TIF funds to rehabilitate the building.

“While we currently see so many individuals and families facing housing insecurity and barriers, it is the work of Franciscan Outreach that brings much-needed services and improved shelter to our neighbors experiencing homelessness,” Sigcho-Lopez wrote in a letter to the city’s planning department. .

Franciscan Outreach has three shelters on the west and southwest sides, including one that helps people transitioning from living in the city’s camps. Franciscan Outreach and the 25th Ward office did not respond to Block Club’s requests for comment by press time.

The project still needs to be approved by the city’s finance committee and the City Council.

Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast: