CHICAGO (CBS) — Chicago neighborhood streets once known for empty lots are now filling with new homes.
On Wednesday, three families got the keys in the Roseland community on the Far South Side. The landmark is part of Reclaiming Chicago, an effort to build thousands of homes on vacant lots.
James Williams Jr., Sean Brinker and Linda Brown Wilson are all now owners of new modular homes on East 118th Street.
“Roseland seems like everything is changing,” Williams said. “We know it’s going to get better.”
The concrete steps to Wilson’s front door may have looked cold, but she still sat proudly on them as she spoke with CBS News Chicago.
“It doesn’t feel cold, it feels good,” she said, “because I know I’m sitting on my stoop.”
The three strangers are now neighbors in the three modular homes, and they are all excited.
“You plant your feet and say, ‘This is mine,’” Brinker said.
The new building is part of a broad and bold plan by the Hope Center Foundation and other social organizations.
“This is the first time in 60 years that we have built new homes in the Roseland community,” said the Rev. James Meeks, pastor emeritus of Salem Baptist Church of Chicago and former Illinois state senator.
The plan calls for the construction of 1,000 new homes on the south side, and another 1,000 on the west side.
“You’re going to have families investing,” Williams said. “It will be their homes.”
Ten brand new homes are now on the ground in Roseland, and there are plans to build another 25 new homes this spring, filling empty lots with single-family homes.
Wilson moves in and moves on after four years of homelessness.
“We had a house fire and we lost everything,” she said.
A year ago, Wilson also lost her only son.
The keys are now in her hands, and those of Brinker and Williams – also first-time homebuyers – just in time for the holidays.
“No, just before Christmas?” Williams said. “I can’t get any better than that.”
And Roseland is now a neighborhood no longer left behind, but elevated.
