POAH ACQUIRES HARVEST COMMONS AND WARREN ASHLAND APARTMENTS

POAH ACQUIRES HARVEST COMMONS AND WARREN ASHLAND APARTMENTS

Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) this week acquired two residential properties - Harvest Commons and Warren Ashland Apartments - from the troubled Heartland Housing portfolio. The properties are located in Chicago’s bustling Near West Side at 1519 and 1533 W. Warren Blvd. respectively, and comprise 164 mixed-income apartments.

The two properties were developed and previously owned by Heartland Housing, Inc., (a nonprofit developer that ceased operations after falling into financial distress. Heartland’s portfolio of Chicago and Wisconsin properties went into receivership in 2023, and this acquisition represents the preservation of two of the largest of those assets.

“This acquisition is important for POAH as a nonprofit that has been rescuing at risk properties in the City of Chicago since 2008,” said Bill Eager, Senior Vice President for POAH’s Midwest office., We look forward to restoring the long-term health of these properties so they we can continue to provide this much-needed affordable housing for this community.”

POAH will be the managing partner and has a general partner interest in two separate low-income housing tax credit partnerships for the properties. Enterprise Community Partners is the limited partner on behalf of the tax credit investors. POAH’s property management affiliate, POAH Communities LLC, has managed these buildings since late 2023, and will continue to do so.

POAH was selected in 2023 by Enterprise to join the partnership and assume management at Harvest Commons and Warren-Ashland, following a competitive process. In addition, POAH has secured the necessary approvals from the City of Chicago, Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA), Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) and Fannie Mae, which financed the properties’ initial development and remain involved.

Both of these properties hold a special place in Chicago's housing history, especially Harvest Commons. Harvest, which opened in 2012 to much fanfare after restoration of the former Viceroy Hotel. (Viceroy Hotel Rehab is Fully Funded and Set to Begin - Curbed Chicago). Harvest Commons offers 89 studio apartments serving people at risk of homelessness and those returning to the community from prison.

St. Leonard’s Ministries (Saint Leonard's Ministries), a mission-driven organization that helps people return to the community post-prison, leases 17 units – the entire second floor -- for its clients and provides social work support. POAH is working to expand that presence to 24 units in near future. The remaining units are supported by Heartland Human Care Services, which is independent from Heartland Housing and remains in operation.

Warren-Ashland Apartments, located next door to Harvest Commons, is a 75-unit, new-construction property completed in 2021 offering a mix of affordable apartments serving very low-income people as well as moderate-income and market-rate renters.

The properties offer an abundance of amenities, which include Union Park across the street, busy CTA bus and train routes, and restaurants and other businesses nearby. They are located just west of downtown Chicago near the United Center and Illinois Medical District.

POAH is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to preserve, create and sustain affordable, healthy homes that support economic security, racial equity and access to opportunity for all. POAH is headquartered in Boston with a Midwest base of operations in Chicago and is active in more than a dozen city neighborhoods and suburbs.

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