New affordable housing Grace Manor groundbreaking held in North Lawndale

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The official groundbreaking for Grace Manor was held Monday, but work is already well underway for the new affordable housing at Ogden and Homan.

"Today I'm very hopeful that we are figuring it out here in Chicago, how to make sure housing is a human right which give hope for the rest of the world," said Mayor Brandon Johnson.

The new complex will be 65 units of affordable housing. The neighborhood has been ripe for development, with 3,000 vacant lots in the 24th Ward.

"This is much needed," said Ald. Monique Scott. "The economic development this will bring along Ogden is major."

The vacancies are the direct result of the riots after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr's assassination in 1968. He and his family briefly moved into an apartment in 1966 to bring attention to the poor housing conditions in Lawndale.

Ronnie Gilliam remembers the riots; his family home was on Ogden. They stayed when so many others left, and he said he is grateful to be able to see investment returning to the community.

"Now it's a new generation coming in, love it," he said. "I hope it brings more businesses back up in here because we lost a lot of businesses. I hope they open more businesses. I've been here a long time."

Mayor Johnson also announced he is signing an executive order to streamline housing development and remove barriers.

Rev. Martin Hunter began working on grace Manor 25 years ago, and is eager to encounter fewer barriers in the future.

"My prayer is that not only here in Chicago but across the country Grace Manors will become realities and rise out of the ground," he said.

Grace Manors is being financed with private and public money. It's expected to open in 2025.