Affordable housing development Encuentro Square opens in Logan Square
A new affordable housing development aimed to support families and keep longtime Logan Square residents in the neighborhood is now open.
Encuentro Square, an 89-unit property near the west end of The 606 trail, was developed by Evergreen Real Estate Group and Latin United Community Housing Association. The building is already 74% leased, according to Evergreen, showing high demand for affordable housing in Logan Square, as the developer works on securing funds for a second phase.
The development partners are planning a ribbon cutting for the project on Saturday.
Encuentro means “the act of coming together” in Spanish and embodies the $67.5 million project’s goals.
“This really is a collaboration of both LUCHA and Evergreen together, but it's also three community groups,” Kate Gronstal, Evergreen’s vice president of development operations, said. “It's right on the convergence point of Logan Square, Humboldt Park and Hermosa. There’s a lot of everyone coming together to create this development.”
Evergreen and LUCHA saw “significant displacement” from gentrification in Logan Square in its outreach, Gronstal said. With more residents being priced out, it was a priority to make the development all affordable units — and to have the majority of them family-sized. Of the 89 units, 70 are two- or three-bedrooms.
Units are affordable for families and individuals at or below 60% of the area median income.
A one-bedroom unit rents for $1,100 a month, according to Evergreen. Two-bedroom apartments are $1,300 a month, and a three-bedroom unit is $1,600.
“The amount of gentrification in this neighborhood is really significant,” Gronstal said. “What we’ve seen in displacement really are mostly families being displaced from the neighborhood or gentrified out of the neighborhood. This location in particular has a lot of need for families.”
Evergreen and LUCHA want families to feel a sense of community at Encuentro. Amenities include a community room, teaching kitchen, children’s room, lounge and courtyard. The developers are also working with community support services to offer programs to residents. The Children’s Place Association will provide a home-based Head Start program, in addition to financial training and counseling services.
“LUCHA’s work has always been to listen to our community and invest in projects that respond to those needs,” Lincoln Stannard, LUCHA’s co-executive director, said in a news release.
Encuentro was developed in partnership with the Chicago Department of Housing, the Department of Planning and Development and the Chicago Housing Authority. The project’s funding includes more than $32 million in city-sourced Low-Income Housing Tax Credits and $9 million in tax-increment financing funds, among other sources.
CHA is overseeing rental assistance for 55 of the units. As part of the Project-Based Voucher program, residents put 30% of their monthly income toward rent, and CHA contracts with the property owner to pay the remaining portion.
"My administration believes housing is a human right, and our support of Encuentro Square Apartments is an expression of our commitment to creating affordable, sustainable housing in the areas it is needed most," Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a news release. "I am grateful to all our partners for investing in the vitality and growth of our communities as well as our residents' ability to thrive."
Evergreen is currently working to secure funding for a second phase, Gronstal said. The approved plans for phase two include up to 98 more apartments in a new building, in addition to a roof deck and a fitness center. Gronstal also said Evergreen hopes to build an on-site office for the Children’s Place Association.
Gronstal said there’s a lot of demand for a second phase. It’s dependent on securing funding.
“We're continuing to look at different avenues, but the community is very supportive,” she said. “We would like to see it move forward.”