First residential phase at LeClaire Courts closes on financing Urbanize Chicago
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Chicago
Illinois
Midwest
United States
Residential Complex
Under Redevelopment
Public Housing
Redevelopment
Public Research
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 Garfield Ridge site.
LeClaire Courts
4809 West 44th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60638
Precision: Exact
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Quick Take
- The former LeClaire Courts site has been vacant since its 2011 clearance.
- Phase A-North and A-South will provide 183 homes: 91 CHA project-based-voucher apartments, 74 other affordable apartments, and 18 market-rate apartments.
- Construction was scheduled to begin in August 2026 and finish in 2028.
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Why It Matters
LeClaire Courts is a record of both public housing and prolonged public land vacancy. Clearing the site in 2011 removed buildings and residents long before replacement housing was ready.
The first phase restores housing with a deliberately mixed-income program and includes commercial space and an early-childhood center. Its 91 CHA apartments are especially important because redevelopment must be judged by the return of deeply subsidized homes, not total unit count alone.
The years between clearance and construction remain part of the story. A successful new phase cannot erase the costs of displacement, delay, and a vacant 35-acre landscape.
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Research Narrative
A Cleared Public-Housing Site
CHA prepared LeClaire Courts for redevelopment through relocation and demolition, leaving the Garfield Ridge site vacant by 2011.
Repeated plans placed new mixed-income housing on the land, but infrastructure, financing, development agreements, and legal obligations stretched the timeline for more than a decade.
The First Residential Phase
The August 2026 closing covers two six-story buildings at 4809 West 44th Street and 4442 South Cicero Avenue. Together they are planned for 183 homes, with 165 income-restricted and 18 market-rate apartments.
The project also includes shared spaces, commercial frontage, and an early-childhood center. Construction and delivery, rather than financial closing alone, are the next tests.
Public Actions
Campaign / Petition Record
Ordered oldest to newest.
2011
Public Housing Clearance
Former LeClaire Courts site becomes vacant following clearance
by Public record Previous
CHA identifies 2011 as the beginning of the site's long vacancy.
August 3, 2026
Development Financing
CHA closes financing for LeClaire A-North and A-South
by Public record Current
The closing positioned the 183-home first phase to begin construction.
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Watchlist Blog
Related Updates
1 published update is linked to this article.
Watchlist Blog
August 3, 2026
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...
FAQ
Does the first phase replace all former LeClaire Courts housing?
No. It is the first residential phase, with 183 homes, and should be evaluated within the larger redevelopment and replacement-housing commitments.
Sources
Source Trail
Chicago Housing Authority: LeClaire Courts closing
government
Primary current source for addresses, unit mix, program, developers, and schedule.
CHA: Gautreaux settlement amendment update
government
Official context placing LeClaire within CHA's legacy-site and replacement-housing obligations.
Gautreaux settlement agreement
legal record
Documents replacement-housing obligations and earlier construction deadlines for LeClaire.
Place Snapshot
- Place
- LeClaire Courts
- Location
- 4809 West 44th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60638
- Coverage
- Exact
Key Facts
- Region
- Chicago, Illinois / Midwest
- Location type
- Former public-housing site / mixed-income redevelopment
- Site vacant since
- 2011
- First-phase housing
- 183 apartments
- Current status
- Financing closed; construction expected in 2026
Design / Planning Timeline
Solomon Cordwell Buenz
2020s
Milestone
First-phase architect
Designed the two-building first residential phase.
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