Humboldt Park’s landmarked Pioneer Arcade building — once a bowling alley and billiards spot in the 1920s — is closer to becoming a 61-unit-affordable senior housing property.
The Community Development Commission green-lit the last piece of funding for the project last week, approving $13.2 million in tax increment financing. And if the City Council approves the redevelopment, owner Hispanic Housing Development Corp. said construction will start by Nov. 15. The developer expects to be voted on a council vote in October.
The century-old building, at 1539 N. Pulaski Road, is among the list of anticipated redevelopment projects in Humboldt Park, including the revival of the old Pioneer Trust & Savings Bank nearby and a Teacher’s village residential project at the now closed Von Humboldt Elementary School in 2026, according to the Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th).
“This is not only an opportunity to preserve a historic landmark, it’s an opportunity to house families in a community that otherwise may not be able to afford to live here,” Fuentes said.
The project has been a long-time coming for Hispanic Housing Development Corp. president and CEO Tony Hernandez, who said the project aims to prevent the displacement of long-term residents and allow them to age in place.
“By preserving this sort of architecturally significant facade, we’re preserving some of the history of the immigrant culture of Humboldt Park in the city of Chicago,” Hernandez said.
The ivory-colored terra-cotta facade was designed by Danish-born Chicago architect Jens J. Jensen for Greek entrepreneurs who wanted the building to be an elaborate entertainment and social center in Humboldt Park.
Commercial recreation centers like the Pioneer Arcade are reminiscent of the early 20th century, when bowling and billiards moved out of saloons during the Prohibition to family-friendly venues. The building received its landmark status in January 2023, after over a decade of sitting vacant.
According to the developer, the new project will demolish two-thirds of the existing two-story building, with the exception of a portion of its ground floor lobby and the second floor assembly space, both of which will be integrated into the new six-story building.
The $36 million project is expected to include mostly one-bedrooms, as well as two-bedroom units and a reserved managers unit.
Hernandez said of the 61 units, 58 will be fully rental subsidized. ”None of the residents in the building will have to pay an exorbitant rent,” he said.
Residents will pay no more than 30% of their income toward rent, HHDC said, with 58 units rented to households earning up to 50% of the Area Median Income and two units for households that earn up to 60% of the AMI. The median household income in Humboldt Park is $51,105, according to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning’s latest data.
“It’s a $36 million project and over $20 million of that will be construction costs,” Hernandez said. “We’ll be removing a blighted property and then we’ll also be developing a vacant and underutilized parcel right next to it. So we’ll be increasing both the economic activity and the social activity of the North and Pulaski retail district.”
Funding for the project includes an estimated $16 million in Low Income Housing Tax Credits, $6 million from the U.S. Department of Housing’s Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program; a $510,000 Adopt a Landmark grant from the Chicago Department of Planning and Development, a $206,474 ComEd award and the recently approved $13.2 million TIF.
Hispanic Housing Development Corporation is a veteran affordable housing development company that has roots in Chicago’s Humboldt Park. They recently completed Pedro Albizu Campos Apartments, a 64-unit nine-story affordable housing project on 1203 N. California Ave.
