Progress on Legends South C-3, CHA’s Plan Forward

Construction documents are nearing completion for the third off-site phase of Legends South, a mixed-income development that replaced the Robert Taylor Homes – formerly the world’s largest public housing development.

Legends South is one of the City of Chicago’s most ambitious efforts to revitalize public housing that, once completed, will include 2,400 mixed income rental and affordable homeownership units. Under the Chicago Housing Authority’s “Plan for Transformation,” Landon Bone Baker previously completed Hansberry Square (Phase A-1) and Savoy Square (Phase A-2). These initial phases reconnected the formerly isolated super block high-rise site to the street grid by adding new streets, scaling the blocks for more comfortable walking distances, and establishing a variety of public, semi-public, and private courtyard spaces. Earlier this month, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the CHA visited Legends South to reveal “Plan Forward,” the second phase of the original program.

Phase C-3 is located between E. 43^rd Street and E. 46^th Street, and between the CTA Green Line and S. Wabash Avenue, in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood. The project’s 14 buildings and 71 rental units are comprised mainly of 3-flat, 5-flat, and 6-flat buildings on currently vacant lots. The development also includes two buildings with ground floor commercial space on 43^rd Street. Landon Bone Baker and Johnson & Lee Architects are the design team for Phase C-3.