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Developer To Build 20 More Affordable Apartments In Maywood


A rendering of one of the affordable, handicap-accessible apartment buildings under development in Maywood by IFF, which has already built 12 units in Maywood. | Courtesy WJW Architects 

Thursday, October 27, 2022 || By Michael Romain || @maywoodnews 

Since 2018, a dozen affordable, handicap-accessible apartments have been built in Bellwood and Maywood for people with a broad range of disabilities.

Now, IFF, the developer and lender that has been building the apartments on land purchased for about $7,500 per lot from the Cook County Land Bank Authority, is poised to build 20 more units in six buildings Maywood. The project totals around $9.4 million and is scheduled to be completed by February 2024.

Dena Bell, managing director for IFF, said her organization is also planning to locate its property management office for the nearly 70 units of accessible housing that it’s built over the years in one of the six new Maywood buildings.

She said IFF bas built three units in Bellwood, six in Forest Park and roughly 20 in Berwyn. By 2024, there will be 32 of the units in Maywood.

IFF is developing the units in partnership with the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA), Loyola Medicine parent entity Trinity Health, and Access Health and Housing.

IFF plans to partner with Trinity Health on a “healthcare flex space” that will allow them to provide a range of “health-focused programming,” including wellness classes on the site of one of the new facilities.

Bell said the 20 new units will be similar in design and cost to the 12 existing units. Rent will be between $900 and $1,000 a month. A one-bedroom apartment will be about 750 square feet while a two-bedroom apartment will be about 1,000 square feet.

Each two-flat building features three accessible apartments, according to a 2020 Chicago Construction News article describing the first 12 apartments IFF built in Maywood.

“The two first-floor apartments in each building are wheelchair accessible, with features like roll-in showers, roll-up workspaces, and casement windows that open outward to minimize lift weight,” according to a 2020 article describing the first 12 apartments IFF built in Maywood.

“Second floor units have accessible workspaces, grab bars and audio-visual alarms,” the publication added. “All apartments are equipped with a side-by-side washer and dryer. The apartments are conveniently located just minutes away from Loyola University Medical Center and directly on a Pace bus route.”

A rendering of one of the affordable, handicap-accessible apartment buildings under development in Maywood by IFF, which has already built 12 units in Maywood. | Courtesy WJW Architects 

The first 12 units were built on the 1900 and 2000 blocks of 5th Avenue while the 20 new apartments will be located within two buildings on the 1900 block of 5th Avenue, one building on 8th Avenue just south of Madison and three buildings, including the central office hub, at the corner of 6th Avenue and Madison.

IFF gathered with local elected officials, including Maywood Mayor Nathaniel George Booker and Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch on Sept. 13 to break ground on the newest construction phase.

According to previous Village Free Press reporting, tenants for the first 12 units were identified by third-party agencies that work with people with disabilities. Those agencies referred IFF to prospective tenants, who were then directed to apply to be on a waiting list, which is currently closed.

Tenants had to be prequalified by the Housing Authority of Cook County and only pay 30% of their income in rent, officials said. Construction of the 12 apartments was financed through a combination of tax credits, loans and grants.

“Maywood had been a really good partner for us during the first phase of development and they were very interested in reactivating some of those vacant lots we bought,” Bell said.

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