Over the last ten years, more than one thousand subsidized renters in the 46th Ward have become first-time homeowners as the result of hard work and creative collaboration between the tenants, government agencies, non-profit organizations and Alderman Helen Shiller.

Former HUD highrises at 707 W. Waveland, 4550 N. Clarendon, and 4848 N. Winthrop have joined the former HUD highrise at 810 W. Grace in becoming tenant-owned cooperatives. Each building has its own history, and each tenant has their own story.

"My first priority in building a vibrant, stable and diverse community was to ensure that low and moderate income families could continue to stay in the community and take advantage of increased private and public resources," explained Alderman Shiller in a 1996 speech on balanced development. 

"One of the best ways to assure both diversity for the community and growth and development for individual families was to find ways to turn the former HUD highrises in the ward (sometimes referred to as '236 buildings') into tenant owned cooperatives."

Backround Information on former HUD highrises in Uptown