CHICAGO, IL - Chicago’s North Lawndale neighborhood is now home to an environmentally-friendly affordable housing development aimed at strengthening non-traditional kinship families and supporting young adults aging out of the state’s foster care system.

Three generations will be housed in Sankofa House, and will share on-site support while also becoming each others’ supportive network. Sankofa House consists of a combination of two-, three-, and four-bedroom units for the kinship families and one bedroom “starter” apartments for the young adults ages 18 – 23.

Interfaith Housing Development Corporation (IHDC) and community partner Sankofa Safe Child developed the 58-unit apartment complex. Harley Ellis Devereaux provided architecture and design services.

The development was a pilot project under the Department of Housing’s Green Residential Program and Chicago’s expedited green permit/paperless process.

Sankofa House opened in late 2008 and held a ribbon cutting ceremony in late February.

“Young people who are aging out of foster care need the safety net that permanent supportive housing provides. Each year, thousands of young adults attempt to live independently, but are often confronted with the harsh reality of what it really takes to live independently,” said Gladys Jordan, President of Interfaith Housing Development Corporation. Kinship families are growing nationally, and according to the Illinois Department on Aging, over 200,000 children under the age of 18 are living in a grandparent headed home. Grandparents’ average income is between $15,000 and $25,000. Although grandparent-headed households are the most common type, kinship families are comprised of several other family structures. Chicago’s North Lawndale and Austin neighborhood are homes to the highest levels of kinship families in Illinois.

Light-Filled Spaces that Support Different Needs

Susan King, AIA, LEED AP, principal and lead designer at Harley Ellis Devereaux, took the concept of supporting family, independence and tied it together with a natural light core.

“It was important that the design support community within the building through shared spaces but also promote independence for the young adults,” said King. “Sankofa House occupies a corner site with two main street facades. We organized the kinship apartments along the more residential street and used contemporary bay windows in the living rooms. The young adult apartments are situated along the bustling Roosevelt Road and sport Juliet balconies in the living rooms,” she added.

King and the design team established a natural light core by adding floor-to-ceiling glass from top to bottom at both sides of the dual entry at the ground floor and shared spaces above. This feature reduces energy costs and establishes community spaces. The light-filled spaces also act to promote quality of life.

A Green, Renewable-Ready Home

Sankofa House earned the top-tier three-star certifi cation through the Department of Housing’s Green Residential Program and is among a growing number of sustainable, affordable housing developments in Chicago. The renewable-ready design allows Interfaith Housing to add sustainable elements as funding and new technologies become available.

Sankofa House is set to mount eight urban wind turbines on the roof top this Spring. Other sustainable features include:

• Two habitable vegetative roof gardens are located in each wing, and are accessed from the fifth floor corridor
• Sun shades on the southern windows reduce heat gain in the summer months
• An eco-friendly elevator that uses 60% less energy than a hydraulic elevator
• Low flow plumbing fixtures that will cut the building’s water usage by 20%, saving 295,650 gallons annually
• A tri-sorter chute encourages recycling and requires residents to select waste or two types of recycling, and diverts waste to the appropriate bin at the ground floor
• Built-in recycling bins are located in each apartment, within the kitchen cabinets
• A green flooring product in the corridors utilizes recycled limestone instead of petroleum based vinyl, and provides a hard but easily cleanable walking surface

IHDC works in partnership with local neighborhood organizations to address the housing needs of various communities. Sankofa House was created through a partnership with Sankofa Safe Child, a non-profit organization that works to strengthen families in the North Lawndale area. IHDC is also developing two other facilities that will service extremely low-income families in Chicago.


HARLEY ELLIS DEVEREAUX is an award-winning, full-service organization offering a complete range of planning, architecture, engineering, interior architecture, landscape architecture and construction services. The firm works extensively throughout the Midwest and southern California with offi ces in Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, Riverside and San Diego. The 300-person organization also offers a series of specialty services through its partner companies: Spectrum Strategies – strategic planning, operational consulting, program management, technology and asset management; GreenWorks Studio – sustainable design and building commissioning; Crime Lab Design – forensic facilities design; and HED Build – construction and design/build services. For more information, visit www.hedev.com.

INTERFAITH HOUSING DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION is a non-sectarian non-profit organization that creates long-term, locally generated solutions to homelessness by serving as pathfinder, technical assistance provider and partner to faith-based neighborhood groups seeking to provide stable long-term housing and related services for very low-income people who are homeless, or at risk of homelessness. Interfaith Housing joins in partnership with neighborhood groups, helping them to fulfill their dreams of creating supportive housing and other facilities for their clients and neighbors. Interfaith Housing Development Corporation of Chicago has been designated a Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) by the City of Chicago’s Department of Housing. Among special needs housing developers, it is one of the few that creates projects with apartments spacious enough for families, and which provide services-such as child care or counseling-designed for their special needs. For more information, visit www.ihdc.org.