The residential corridor between southeast Chicago and northwest Indiana once was a vibrant community whose inhabitants thrived under the success of the domestic steel industry and its plentiful job opportunities. Today, it is a patchwork of industrial wreckage, empty neighborhoods and forgotten spaces. But one local developer is attempting to transform the look of southeast Chicago and lure people back by replacing abandoned structures with new single- and two-family homes that environmental engineers are calling the most energy efficient and low cost in Illinois.
The scenario is all too familiar in most major U.S. cities. Developers investing in burned-out markets similar to southeast Chicago have little to offer low-income, working-class families except dirt-cheap prices and down-payment subsidies. However, Claretian Associates, a non-profit developer in southeast Chicago, thinks it can sweeten the pot by building a small neighborhood of affordable homes that come with sustainable construction, access to public transportation and super-low utility bills.