LeClaire Courts Redevelopment, Chicago
Financing closed in August 2026 for two six-story buildings with 183 mixed-income homes, beginning a long-delayed return of housing to the cleared...
Watchlist Blog
LeClaire Courts reaches construction after fifteen years of vacant land
CHA closed financing for 183 mixed-income homes at the former public-housing site, with construction expected to begin in August and completion planned for 2028.
August 3, 2026
LeClaire Courts Redevelopment, Chicago
Updated 2026
The first two buildings return housing to a site cleared by 2011, including 91 CHA apartments, 74 other affordable homes, and 18 market-rate units.
Housing is finally positioned to return to LeClaire Courts. On August 3, the Chicago Housing Authority announced the closing of financing for two six-story buildings on land that has remained vacant since 2011.
The milestone is substantial because the gap between clearance and replacement lasted fifteen years. The new homes should be welcomed without letting the length and cost of that gap disappear from the record.
Read the site's clearance and redevelopment record in LeClaire Courts Redevelopment, Chicago.
Track more public-housing changes in Watchlist Blog.
The first construction phase begins in 2026, but LeClaire's redevelopment clock started when residents were moved and the land was cleared.
What The Closing Funds
LeClaire A-North and A-South will contain 183 homes: 91 CHA project-based-voucher units, 74 other affordable apartments, and 18 market-rate apartments.
The program also includes shared amenities, commercial space, and an early-childhood center. Cabrera Capital Partners and The Habitat Company are the development team.
The Fifteen-Year Gap
LeClaire's buildings and residents were removed before replacement housing was ready. Plans, infrastructure work, legal commitments, and financing continued while the site remained empty.
That sequence matters to public-housing history. Redevelopment should be measured from relocation through return, not only from the celebratory construction start.
What To Watch Next
Construction was expected to begin in August 2026 and finish in 2028. A visible start, delivery schedule, leasing process, right-to-return implementation, and later phases all require documentation.
The mix of deeply subsidized, other affordable, and market-rate units should remain explicit in every progress report.