When low-income housing is converted into luxury apartments

A six-story building on Chicago's North Side once housed some of the city's poorest residents. Now it has been remodeled with granite countertops, stainless appliances and is marketed to young professionals with its "vintage" appeal. (AP Photo/Beth A. Keiser)

BETH A. KEISER, AP

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A high-rise near Wrigley Field in Chicago had tiny rooms with peeling paint, but it offered a home to those who were too poor to pass a credit check, save up first and last month's rent, or make the other stiff qualifications that make it difficult to get into housing in an urban market.

Now the six-story building has a remodeled entry with elaborate carvings. Refurbished studios boast stainless steel countertops and granite countertops, and rents are over $1,000.

The Washington Post reports that the Hotel Carlos, which once offered a cheap place to stay for poor residents, is just one of many in Chicago's North Side that are being snapped up by developers and converted from small, humble spaces for low-income residents, to upscale, "vintage" spaces for single, young professionals.

Gentrification often pushes people out slowly as rents and property taxes rise, but Chicago's disappearing low-income housing is much more direct as whole buildings are emptied out. Since 2011, more than 2,000 units have been converted into upscale apartments, according to The Washington Post report.

But as of last week, city councilmen passed an ordinance that would preserve single resident occupant housing. The move is an acknowledgment that these properties are a key asset in affordable housing, a shift from a few years ago, when councilmen were just as happy to get rid of them.

Ed Shurna, director of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, told the Chicago Sun-Times that preserving SROs was vital for keeping people housed and maintaining diversity: More people would be thrown out in the street and become homeless and, in their place, wed have boutique hotels that are very expensive, he said.

Still, Chicago's affordable housing stock needs 3,500 more units to meet demand, he said.

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When low-income housing is converted into luxury apartments