Homeless is an ugly word, especially at this festive time of year.
Yet with the slump in the housing market and a climbing foreclosure rate, homelessness is a fact of life for a growing number of families.
Low-cost and affordable housing has been a shrinking proportion of the total in many of the nation’s metropolitan areas, a casualty of the recent housing boom. And while there is a long way to go to solve the situation, Chicago and a number of other cities are working with both for-profit and not-for-profit builders to tackle the problem.
One far-sighted solution is the Wentworth Commons Apartments, a complex of 51 new construction units at South Wentworth Avenue and 111th Street in Chicago’s Roseland neighborhood.
Developed by non-profit agency Mercy Housing Lakefront and designed by architects at the firm of Harley Ellis Devereaux, the building combines housing and support services. It has 24-hour staffing at the reception desk and has offices for caseworkers, after-school care and a computer lab on the first floor.
Colorful and eye-catching, the L-shaped building has glazed yellow and green accent tiles that help make the sprawling structure look like a complex of several smaller buildings.
There are three four-bedroom, 15 three-bedroom and nine two-bedroom apartments, as well as 24 studio units in the complex.
Residences range from 300-square-foot efficiency apartments to the 1,350-square-foot, four-bedroom, two-bath homes.
Tenants sign a standard lease and pay rent on a sliding scale, but no more than 30 percent of their income.
Sixty-five adults and 71 children who were formerly homeless or at great risk of becoming homeless live at Wentworth.
It is one of 17 buildings, with a total of 1,440 units, that the organization has developed or is developing in Chicago.
Mercy Housing Lakefront is the result of a merger of two groups–Mercy Housing and Lakefront Supportive Housing–early in 2006. Mercy Housing has worked across the nation since its founding in 1981. Over the years it has developed more than 19,100 affordable homes, both rental and single-family, for 58,000 people nationally.
Wentworth Commons, and a second project, the soon-to-open Near North SRO designed by renowned architect Helmut Jahn, aim,despite somewhat higher construction costs, to provide more than just shelter. They are among the most energy-efficient residences in the city.
There are solar panels on the roof to supply part of the building’s energy needs and high-effiency boiler and heat recovery systems. The interior has non-toxic materials such as wheat board and cork to maximize interior air quality. The materials minimize chemical fumes in the air.
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Maverick Sharks is one of several single-room occupancy residents who benefits from those efforts. A long-time tenant of a now-demolished YMCA in Roseland, Sharks lives on a disability income and suffers from asthma, a condition he says sometimes was aggravated by mold and conditions at the old `Y’ building.
His 300-square-foot, one-room efficiency is spotless. The room is big enough for a single bed, a loveseat and entertainment center and a lighted etagere to display Sharks’ collection of model cars. The room has a tiny corner kitchen and a private bath, a luxury Sharks treasures after years of sharing a bath at the Y.
Donna Carter, her mother, and three daughters are among the families living in the building.
Nearly two years ago, Carter’s family was facing life on the street after the lender for the house in which they were living began to foreclose on the property.
When it became clear that family members, who had already spent a number of nights without heat and electricity, soon would lose the roof over their heads, a friend suggested Carter apply for an apartment at Wentworth Commons, then under construction.
In the housing version of winning the lottery, Carter, who has rheumatoid arthritis, was one of the 51 applicants–out of 1,000–to move into the new building in July 2005.
“It is a blessing … It has the rent I could afford” and has an elevator, said Carter.
Although her middle daughter, Autumn, 13, prefers the old house with its yard and easier access to friends, Carter says she is happy in Wentworth because it is clean, has the elevator and is safe.
Security is one reason a number of residents, including those who rent the market-rate apartments, choose to stay, says Fred Bradley, case management services manager.
The apartments are as roomy, if not as lavishly appointed, as many comparable new-construction units. They are designed with many of the same key features that appeal to residents of all economic levels–open floor plans, high ceilings, and plenty of natural light.
The door to a three-bedroom unit on the southeast corner opens to a foyer with a wall of closets to the left. The door to one of the bedrooms is across the foyer from the front door. To the right of the foyer is the living room, big enough for a sofa, coffee table, a couple of easy chairs and a television.
The living room is open to a kitchen/dining area where windows on two walls make the space for a table and chairs a virtual sunroom. To the right of the living room is a hall leading to two bedrooms and a bathroom.
There are nice touches– the center island in the kitchen as well as the colorful tile backsplash behind the kitchen sink. Each floor has a laundry room with a comfortable lounge, a sort of adults-only area.
The project, of course, barely scratches the surface of the need–Roseland, for example had 386 foreclosures in 2004, up more than 30 percent from the number a decade earlier according to the National Training and Information Center.
One sign of the need for housing is the handwritten “No applications are being taken” sign taped to the glass at the front of the building.
“When we open our leasing, it’s like a run on the bank,” Bradley said.
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Wentworth Commons, Chicago
FACTS AND FIGURES
51 apartments ranging from efficiency units with private baths to four-bedroom, two-bath units.
Square feet: 300 to 1,350
Monthly rent: $0 to $1,247
Developer: Mercy Housing Lakefront
Web site: www.mercyhousinglakefront.org
AMENITIES
Nine-foot ceilings, central air conditioning and heat.
Whirlpool kitchen appliances, laminate kitchen counters and Armstrong maple cabinets.
Vinyl tile and cork flooring in some community rooms.
Outdoor patio for eating and grilling, indoor and outdoor play areas, 24-hour desk clerk, computer lab and community meeting room.
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Kitchen, laundry room and lounges on each floor.
13 accessible/adaptable units. All units are accessible to wheelchair-bound visitors.
Community: Four-floor building with 24 single-room occupancy units and 27 family units.
GETTING THERE
Address: 11045 S. Wentworth Ave.
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