Renaissance Apartments

The acquisition and rehabilitation of the Renaissance Apartments at Woodlawn Park is part of POAH’s award-winning work with the Choice Neighborhoods program in the Woodlawn neighborhood.  

The 117 units at Renaissance Apartments are located in six vintage apartment buildings in the Woodlawn neighborhood, which were first financed as affordable housing in the mid-1990s.  Located less than a block from the campus of the University of Chicago, the apartments were seen as desirable and were home to many longtime residents.  With pressure for condominium conversion in this part of the neighborhood, purchasing these buildings for continuing affordability when they were put on the market was important.

With the Renaissance Apartments, POAH saw not only an opportunity with tax exempt bond financing to update these valuable units and preserve their affordability, POAH was able to transfer project-based rental assistance from the distressed Grove Parc Apartments nearby, to a portion of the units at Renaissance, providing a new housing choice for residents to stay in the neighborhood.  POAH was able to leverage scarce public and private dollars, include a HOME loan from the City of Chicago and 4% LIHTC credits from the Illinois Housing Development Authority to update unit finishes and increase energy efficiency in the buildings.  

To learn more about POAH's work in Chicago, view the brochure, visit the website, or watch the video