5150 Northwest Highway is a 75 unit mixed-income apartment community in Jefferson Park for veterans, persons with disabilities, seniors, and families. It features spacious studio, one-, two– and three-bedroom units, with large windows, generous natural light, in-unit washer and dryers, great views, community spaces and game rooms. Unusual for affordable developments, 5150 offers many family-friendly three-bedroom units.

5150 is also in a prime location for  public transit and community resources, with an excellent walkability score of 89, excellent transit score, and great bikeability. It received USGBC’s LEED Gold certification.

Response to 5150 has been enthusiastic: It gained a 700-person waiting list long prior to completion and has since become even more desirable. 82-year-old Chicago native Joel B. notes, “One of the advantages of the new building is it has elevators, so I can roll out my front door, take the elevator down and get outside,” he said.

Shawna Bowman, Pastor at Friendship Presbyterian Church, said Joel’s story represents the importance of having an affordable housing development on the Northwest Side. The now rebranded Friendship Community Place leases half the ground floor as  a community space with shared resources that assist its congregation and the neighborhood at large. In addition to hosting Sunday worship, the group hosts art classes, community meetings and cooking workshops in its full-service community kitchen, which will be used by people from the neighborhood.

Angel C. was one of 5150’s first residents— and he never wants to leave. Angel, 32, who uses a wheelchair, notes, “When I first came to see it, what I loved was how easy and handicapped-accessible it is and how beautiful it is,” he said.

“My old [apartment] was not accessible,” Angel said. “I would have to climb 10 stairs up and down, carrying my wheelchair with me going up and down the stairs. It was so much stress and tiring by the end of the day. … Sometimes I would not go out because there were so many stairs, so I would just stay home.”

Angel said he is grateful to have been selected to live in the building, which is drastically different from his old apartment. His new home offers a panoramic view of the neighborhood and is quieter, safer, and allows him to get more easily to know the community and his neighbors, he said.

5150 Northwest Highway developed by Full Circle Communities received the prestigious Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Award for Outstanding Non-Profit Neighborhood Real Estate Project, presented at the LISC Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards last night. The Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Award for Outstanding Non-Profit Neighborhood Real Estate Project recognizes a community development corporation for a specific real estate project that has contributed significantly to the enhancement of the community.