The front of the buildings have less foot traffic than before, and it’s unusually quiet, two things the few residents left in the once-crowded Chicago Housing Authority’s Harold Ickes public housing development enjoy. But the peacefulness is b
The front of the buildings have less foot traffic than before, and it’s unusually quiet, two things the few residents left in the once-crowded Chicago Housing Authority’s Harold Ickes public housing development enjoy. But the peacefulness is bittersweet, residents said.
Several of the buildings may be slated for demolition in a few months, a move that has been long expected, according to residents.
The 11-building Ickes development, located between 22nd and 25th Streets on South State Street, opened in 1955 with 738 units. In its heyday, it housed more than 1,600 residents, according to the CHA.
Now fewer than 180 residents occupy three buildings in the 54-year-old development, said CHA spokesperson Matthew Aguilar.
“At Ickes, as at all CHA sites, a redevelopment committee will soon begin to determine the future of the development. Ickes has a total of 11 residential buildings, three of which are open and occupied. The remainder of the buildings are vacant, uninhabitable and infeasible to rehabilitate. Therefore, six of the buildings are scheduled for demolition to remove what could become a haven for illegal activity,” Aguilar said.
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