'West Woodlawn Pointe' development transforms vacant lots into new homes

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A reinvestment initiative in Chicago's West Woodlawn neighborhood is paying off by transforming a residential block, while also creating hundreds of construction jobs.

Tuesday marks the official completion of phase one of West Woodlawn Pointe.

"This was not a block you wanted to venture down," said Bonita Harrison, a developer of West Woodlawn Pointe. "Now look at it: vibrant, promising, inviting."

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Five residential buildings have been built by local African-American developers - with five more coming - for a purposeful investment in this neighborhood as part of Cook County's "Buy Back the Block Initiative."

"I'm eager to see the ripple effects of this investment in the future of West Woodlawn just as I'm eager to see inside these beautiful new buildings," Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said.

The developers worked with the Cook County Land Bank and nonprofits to cut through the red tape and the legacy of the discriminatory mortgage policy known as "redlining" to concentrate new housing on these blocks of West Woodlawn.

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Developer Dajuan Robinson's three-unit building on Evans is under contract and scheduled to close next week.

"To be able to take these lots and put homeowners in them, people who are going to bring money into the community and spent money at the corner store and create a new life for people on the community," Robinson said.

Retired teacher Carolyn Fay Young lives across from Robinson's building. She's been in the neighborhood since 1986.

"We used to have a block club and it was very active and it was really very nice," Young said. "It has been a wonderful thing to see the revitalization of the neighborhood."

The developers say they have seen other projects come into the neighborhood since they announced their plans in May.

The hope is that more neighbors will bring new businesses and ultimately a stronger and safer community for all who reside here.

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