3C Community Profile: East Garfield Park

Formerly farmlands, the East Garfield Park neighborhood officially became part of Chicago in 1869. However, it would not see many residents until the early 1900s, when an influx of German, Irish and Russian immigrants moved in. By the 1950s, the neighborhood was predominately Black.  

Due to decades of underinvestment and lack of affordable housing options on the West Side, East Garfield Park has experienced significant population loss. Between 1980 and 2017, the neighborhood lost 43 percent of residents.  

East Garfield Park is one of two neighborhoods (Humboldt Park is the other one) where Connecting Capital and Community (3C) – a multi-year initiative to build wealth through homeownership – is piloting innovative solutions for affordable homeownership. Working with residents, community-based organizations, and the private and public sectors, 3C is leading several efforts to make homeownership a reality for many families and individuals.    

“We need to preserve affordability, prevent all forms of displacement, and create economic opportunity for legacy residents,” said Mike Tomas, executive director of East Garfield Park Community Council, a 3C partner. “The new local homeownership ecosystem, led by 3C, is working together to design creative products to make homeownership possible for legacy residents.” 

Building a Pipeline of Prospective Homebuyers  

With funding from 3C, Spanish Coalition for Housing is spearheading a group of housing counseling agencies working to build a pipeline of prospective homebuyers through various financial literacy and homeownership education programs. The goal is to prepare 100 residents from both 3C neighborhoods for homeownership within the next year and support them through the entire homebuying process. The following organizations are serving East Garfield Park residents:   

• Breakthrough Urban Ministries is the lead marketing and outreach partner, connecting East Garfield Park residents with housing education partners to help them increase their homebuyer readiness.  
• Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago (NHS) offers lending services and free homeownership education and counseling programs. The organization also provides downpayment assistance and grants to help people buy, fix and keep their homes. NHS also offers foreclosure prevention services.  
• Spanish Coalition for Housing provides a variety of programs and services that range from free homebuyer education to rental, mortgage and utility assistance to foreclosure education. The organization also offers landlord certification.   

HCV Homeownership Mentorship Program 

Both East Garfield Park and Humboldt Park have a significant number of Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) holders. In partnership with NHS and Breakthrough Urban Ministries, the Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance’s HCV Homeownership Mentorship program pairs previous HCV holders who transitioned to homeowners with renters enrolled in the Chicago Housing Authority’s Choose to Own program to help them navigate the ins and outs of the homeownership process. 3C provided funding for the peer mentorship pilot in 2023 and plans to renew support later this year.  

Increasing Affordable Housing Stock  

To address the lack of affordable housing inventory in both 3C neighborhoods, the initiative is working with an alliance of developers to build affordable, single-family and two-flat homes on vacant parcels. According to East Garfield Park Community Council, the neighborhood has over 1,500 vacant lots. Together, the 3C developer partners have control of over 70 vacant parcels that are intended for affordable, new construction. With grant support from 3C, the following housing developments are underway:  

• NHS is leading the 3C developer alliance to create new single-family affordable homes (1-4 units) for existing residents of both 3C neighborhoods. 
• Inherent L3C has completed four homes and plans to begin seven more by the end of the year.  
• Citizens Building a Better Community has developed two affordable single-family units in East Garfield Park, which have already been sold, and will build an additional four homes that will be made available to existing residents.  
• KMW Communities is planning development of six two-flats that are intended to be affordable for residents in both 3C neighborhoods, including one two-flat available to East Garfield Park residents.  

Creating Affordable Lending Products  

Access to flexible and affordable mortgage products can help to close the homeownership gap for low and moderate-income families. However, lending services are not keeping up with demand in Chicago’s predominantly nonwhite neighborhoods. According to an Urban Institute report, while more than 36 percent of nonwhite households own their homes, only 28 percent of lending in the city flows into these communities. The following organizations are working with 3C to make lending services and products more accessible to East Garfield Park residents:   

• NHS, Illinois Housing Development Authority, and Transform Capital serve on 3C’s Lending Action Team to provide expertise on creating innovative and affordable mortgage products for potential homebuyers.   
• With 3C funding support, NHS is piloting an affordable mortgage product to support mortgage-ready buyers purchasing 3C homes in both 3C neighborhoods. The product is a 30-year, 3.5 percent fixed mortgage loan with no private mortgage insurance. 

Looking Ahead 

According to 3C Program Director Lynnette McRae, the collective efforts of 3C have recruited nearly 300 residents to begin their homebuying journey, with 21 already achieving homeownership. Recognizing the current challenges of the housing market, she also notes her excitement over the recently launched 3C mortgage loan product, which is designed to help low-to-moderate income prospective buyers access a low-cost mortgage option.  

“I’m so proud of the way we’ve partnered together – community leaders, housing organizations, developers, lending institutions, the city, the County, and philanthropy working together towards a shared goal,” she said. “It’s truly been an honor to work alongside this collaborative network of partners who are driving this work forward.”  

To learn more about 3C’s work and for updates, click here.