Media Contact: Diana Pando /[email protected]
Office: 312-880-1140 / Cell 312-498-4067
On Thursday, February 5, 2015, The Resurrection Project (TRP), community stakeholders, and Alderman Daniel “Danny” Solis will hold a shovel ceremony for Casa Querétaro, a new construction that will create 45 units of quality affordable housing in Pilsen. The ceremony, which kicks off a yearlong celebration of TRP’s 25^th anniversary, will take place at 10 a.m. at Orozco Community Academy (1940 West 18th Street).
Casa Querétaro will be a four-story state-of-the-art, energy-efficient building that will replace the empty lot on the corner of Damen and 17th Street. The 45 units will be available at below-market rates to provide quality, affordable housing options for individuals and families.
“The investment in Casa Queretaro is part of our Five Year Housing Plan which entails a citywide commitment to creating more affordable housing for families in the City of Chicago,” said Mayor Rahm Emanuel.  “This project represents a much-anticipated transformation of underutilized land that will positively impact and address the needs of this community and provide additional rental housing for Chicago’s families.”
This project is almost 20 years in the making and a result of neighbors and community leaders advocating for change. In the mid 90s, TRP and area residents organized to tear down the abandoned silos that used to be on the vacant lot.
“The silos and vacant lot,” says lifelong Pilsen resident Alicia Rocha, “were a magnet for criminal activity, garbage, and rat infestations. Casa Querétaro will improve the neighborhood and continue to stabilize families on this block.”
“Casa Querétaro will reclaim a once-dangerous empty lot and convert it to a new space where families can imagine more for themselves in the community,” says Alderman Solis 25^th Ward. “It will remove a dangerous empty space near Orozco Academy, and transform the area with a beautiful new building.”
“The Resurrection Project has been working tirelessly with the city and aldermen for 25 years to build healthy communities,” says TRP CEO Raul Raymundo. “ Creating community assets like Casa Querétaro not only provides safe and affordable housing for families and individuals but strengthens the neighborhood.”
The new construction comes at a time when people are struggling to find housing within their budget. According to a report by Trulia, a marketplace real estate site, “rent prices in Chicago went up by 5%, higher than the national average.”
“Casa Querétaro will provide new, modern apartments,” says Guacolda Reyes, TRP’s Vice President of Real Estate Development, “but at affordable rates to ensure families are not priced out of the Pilsen neighborhood.”
This project represents a $15 million investment in Chicago’s Pilsen community that will also spur jobs and economic opportunity. The project is possible thanks to significant investment from the following financing partners: City of Chicago’s Department of Planning and Development, City of Chicago Ogden TIF, Citi Community Capital, Chicago Housing Authority and The National Equity Fund. The architects for the new apartment building are Design Bridge Ltd. Construction will be managed by DENCO Construction Inc. The building is scheduled to for completion in December 2015.
The shovel ceremony for Casa Querétaro marks the start of a yearlong celebration leading up to TRP’s 25^th Anniversary Gala in October. “TRP has impacted our communities with projects like Casa Querétaro since 1990,” says Raymundo. “We are excited about our 25^th anniversary, but more excited about our plans to expand our services and projects so that we help transform more neighborhoods in the years to come.”

Photos Available Upon Request

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