Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation is working on our newest presevation project, Victory Apartments, a Project-Based Section 8 development consisting of 107 affordable units in 9 vintage, multi-family buildings in the Humboldt Park and West Town communities. In 1990, Bickerdike completed the initial rehabilitation of the buildings. The project was the culmination of an intensive organizing campaign to push the State of Illinois to fund its first affordable housing development in our community and it is named for the Victory of that campaign.

In late 2016, we purchased our two for-profit partners’ interests in this development and are now working on assembling financing to achieve our long term goal of preserving Victory Apartments as high quality, affordable housing for the foreseeable future.

The project will require the relocation of current residents for the duration of the rehab of their unit. In early 2019, we facilitated meetings with these residents to ensure that they are informed, prepared and engaged in the process from beginning to end.

The rehab will include the replacement of windows and doors, plumbing repair, replacement of HVAC systems to include central air and improved efficiency, and more. In May, we were awarded federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) by the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA). We will now proceed to the next step in the rehab process.