Lawndale Christian Development Corporation Wants To Keep Families In The Community

The Lazarus apartment building, which is located in North Lawndale, is an example of projects that Lawndale Christian Development Corporation has created in the community. PHOTO PROVIDED BY BROWN FARMER MEDIA GROUP.
The Lazarus apartment building, which is located in North Lawndale, is an example of projects that Lawndale Christian Development Corporation has created in the community. PHOTO PROVIDED BY BROWN FARMER MEDIA GROUP.

Lawndale Christian Development Corporation Wants To Keep Families In The Community

By Tia Carol Jones

The Lawndale Christian Development Corporation is working to build 1,000 new single-family homes, through a partnership with United Power for Action and Justice and in tandem with organizations and communities across the city of Chicago.

“It really has blossomed into a citywide effort to reclaim our neighborhoods for working class families,” said Whittney Smith, Deputy Director and Counsel for the Lawndale Christian Development Corporation. She added that by partnering with committed practitioners, LCDC is ensuring that working class folks can stay in Chicago and remain in their neighborhoods.

The Lawndale Christian Development Corporation was founded in 1987, with a mission to revitalize North Lawndale through redevelopment initiatives, employment and education programs. It currently manages 220 units of affordable rental housing and 130 residential properties have been constructed.

The Lawndale Christian Development Corporation is also building and incubating cooperative businesses, which is another way they are anchoring residents. In addition to residents having beautiful homes, they can also have careers and ownership in businesses.

“Generational wealth building is about more than just passing on legacy, it’s also about building, in real time, businesses that will serve, the population that is there now,” Smith said.

Collaborating with community residents and other community organizations has been one of The Lawndale Christian Development Corporations’ strengths. Richard Townsell, Executive Director of LCDC, has relationships with people across the city of Chicago. Smith said that collaborative piece has been what ensured that LCDC stayed on the forefront of what is wanted and desired in the community. Collaborating with residents has resulted in fresh ideas, the opportunity to scale, do it at a higher level and at pace.

“If you come to North Lawndale and you look at Ogden. You think how did all this happen? And the saying that comes to my mind is that things take longer than you ever thought they would, so they happen faster than you ever thought they could. That’s the story of North Lawndale,” she said.

There is a North Lawndale Homeowners Association that has grown to 250 people. It is giving residents the opportunity to talk about their needs and concerns, then working to push those concerns and needs forward. With the association, LCDC was able to push for the city of Chicago and the Chicago Public Library to invest $2.2 million in the local library. It took it from a dilapidated building to a building that the community could be proud of.

Through uplifting community leaders and ideas on how to move the community forward, the Lawndale Christian Development Corporation has been able to bring people to its organization and when they move on, they go on to do great things.

Smith talked about the Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Apartments, located at 1550 S. Hamlin, it is one of many economic development initiatives that the organization is most proud of. The state-of-the-art, 45-unit affordable rental building which has green space is on the block where Dr. King lived when he came to Chicago in 1966. It is one of the first modern, new development buildings in the neighborhood. The building houses The Soul Food Lounge, along with other amenities and resources.

“You step inside of it, and you are just transported. You are in a space of peace … it feels like Black love, it feels like the South in a space, it’s just warm and inviting,” Smith said.

The Lawndale Christian Development Corporation is located at 3843 W. Ogden Ave. For more information about the Lawndale Christian Development Corporation, visit lcdc.net.

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