Chicago & Midwest + Downtown + Apartments | March 17, 2021

CHA, Jonathan Rose Cos. Reach Agreement on Low-Income Complex

The Chicago Housing Authority approved a contract with New York City-based affordable housing investor Jonathan Rose Cos. to subsidize up to 160 of the 272 apartments at Barbara Jean Wright Court, a 27-building low-income housing complex on the Near West Side.

Jonathan Rose plans to take over the complex in a makeover that will include new roofs and HVAC systems and new kitchens and bathrooms in the apartments, Crain’s Chicago Business reported.

The firm would pay $1 to take over Barbara Jean Wright Court, pay off a $16-million HUD loan on the property and spend an additional $35 million, or about $130,000 per unit, on the renovation, Jonathan Rose partner Nathan Taft told Crain’s.

At a meeting Tuesday, the CHA Board of Commissioners approved a 15-year contract to provide housing vouchers for as many as 160 tenants at the property.

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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 13-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 15-20 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).