Concerns about breast cancer have led to a medical facility being included in the Oakwood Shores Terraces mixed-income development being built in Chicago.
The six-story building will feature 48 units of housing and 21,000 square feet of space on the first two floors leased to Mercy Hospital.
Besides an obstetrics/gynecology unit, the hospital is expected to incorporate suites for internal and pediatric medicine.
Oakwood Shores Terraces and Medical Center is part of the 700-unit Oakwood Shores neighborhood being developed by the team of The Community Builders, Inc. (TCB); Granite Development Corp.; and UJIMA, the Chicago Housing Authority's (CHA's) community-based partner.
When the latest project is completed next spring, it will be the first CHA community to include a medical facility.
McShane Construction Co. is building the project designed by NIA Architects and Stull and Lee.
A working group made up of representatives from the community and development team regularly meet to discuss the large development project as well as special topics of concern, says Jessica Caffrey, CHA project manager.
A newspaper article triggered a conversation about the lack of breast cancer detection in African-American women. That discussion and the involvement of Mercy Hospital helped spur the addition of the medical facility, which will include mammography equipment.
A mix of financing, including lowincome housing tax credits and New Markets Tax Credits, is behind the approximately $15.2 million development, which will feature 19 public housing, 17 affordable, and 12 market-rate apartments.
The development will benefit the larger community by providing new employment opportunities and key medical services, adds Lee Pratter, senior project manager for TCB. The project is among six others that TCB has in the neighborhood.
Located north of Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood, Oakwood Shores Terraces is across the street from an affordable seniors property that opened last year.
