September 8, 2003

BY DAVID ROEDER AND FRAN SPIELMAN Staff Reporters

A developer of senior housing has proposed a major new project for Far South Side Roseland that would inject a more residential character into its Michigan Avenue business strip.

Pathway Senior Living LLC asked for zoning approval to build 114 units for mostly studio apartments at 10430 S. Michigan. Robert Helle, partner at Pathway, said the development is designed for low- to middle-income seniors who need some form of assisted living.

A partner in the project is Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago Inc., a non-profit group that has been a busy investor in the Far South Side community. In 2000, the organization opened a 44-unit apartment complex immediately south of the Pathway site.

It also backed development of 19 single-family homes just to the east, on Edbrooke Avenue between 105th and 107th streets. Both projects were built on land that was largely vacant in a community that has seen little investment. But neighborhood boosters said there's a demand for housing in Roseland and that the Pathway project will mark an important step in local improvement. "We have so many seniors who need some form of assisted living, and they want to stay in the area,'' said Pat DeBonnett, executive director of the Greater Roseland Community Development Corp.

Helle said he hopes to start construction by late 2004 and to be open early in 2006. City zoning approval theoretically would allow for a faster start, but Helle said he needs time to procure low-income housing tax credits.

Pathway operates senior housing facilities in Calumet City, Melrose Park, Joliet and Park Forest. Helle said Pathway is working on a design for the three-story Roseland property, which will include service of three meals per day.

The project is part of a tax-increment financing district that subsidizes development, but Helle said he's seeking no cash assistance from the city.

Juanita Charlton, an assistant commissioner at the city's Department of Planning and Development, said the project will turn a blighted stretch of Michigan Avenue into a community asset.

The department has worked with neighborhood groups to bring new homes onto the thoroughfare and to eliminate some of its run-down and outmoded commercial space. DeBonnett said much of the street south of 106th will keep its commercial character.

Charlton said the city has authority to acquire the Roseland Plaza at 115th and Michigan and is looking for a grocery store operator that wants to build there.

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