4848 N. Winthrop

Unlike the other buildings which were privately owned with HUD subsidies, 4848 N. Winthrop was actually owned and operated by HUD after the original private owner neglected the building and was then foreclosed on.  Because of this neglect, 4848 N. Winthrop had less stability.

A 1996 University of Illinois study described the situation like this: "By the early 1990s, after years of neglect by the previous owner and mismanagement by HUD, 4848 had deteriorated to crisis levels.  The windows leaked each time it rained.   As Larry Pusateri, housing developer at CPDC, confirms, HUD 'had really realized that it had pretty much run [the building] into the ground over the twelve years or so that they had it....'   In addition to the physical deterioration the building had become a magnet for the social ills of the neighborhood.  Pusateri adds, "[4848] was definitely seen as the number one drug and crime building in the neighborhood."   Problems with this building spilled out on the street in the form of prostitution, gang activity, and drug sales.  As one eighteen-year resident comments, "I've seen all of that since I've been here.  People getting killed in this building.  Right on the same floor I was on . . . The drugs . . . it used to be like running water, that's what caused so much killing and shooting and fighting."

Tenant leaders, non-profit community organizations, and the Alderman engaged in an extended process of repairing the building, forcing out criminal elements, and building a sense of community amongst the tenants.  This process culminated with the tenants finally purchasing the building in 2003.