Under the terms of a settlement agreement, 1,800 public housing units will be built on the site of the former Cabrini-Green housing development. Credit: Photo by David Schalliol

How you view the Cabrini-Green housing development is most likely based on when and where you grew up. For many current and former Chicago Housing Authority residents, the North Side housing complex evokes memories of a once tightly knit community in search of the American Dream.

That search entered a new era last month when the CHA and the Cabrini-Green Local Advisory Council entered a settlement agreement on a 2013 lawsuit filed by the tenant group. The lawsuit charged that the CHA reneged on its promise to redevelop the property with 100 percent public housing. Under the terms of the settlement, which was approved by a judge on Sept. 16, the CHA will reserve 40 percent of the Frances Cabrini rowhouses and an additional 1,800 apartments in the planned redevelopment for public housing.

For those who weren’t around or don’t remember, here’s a look at the development over the years and the forces that shaped its past, present and future.

Christine is the operations and marketing manager for The Chicago Reporter. Email her at cwachter@chicagoreporter.com.

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4 Comments

  1. 15 years ago when the towers started coming down I told my friends watch, they are going to trick people into moving in here then fill it back up with public housing and ruin it again. Chicago was once a business city that did big things and attracted big people but now it’s become a 21st century government sponsored voter plantation.

    1. Public housing isn’t to blame. It’s people like you who randomly discriminate against people who need public housing which is to blame. It’s people like you who also discriminate against those same people in the area of employment so that they can’t afford safe, decent affordable housing elsewhere. Blame the victim, much?

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