“Granny flats” will begin their return to Chicago in less than two months, after the City had prohibited them for more than 60 years—an era when many Chicago grandparents were children. The City permitted the flats as part of a pilot program in five zones throughout Chicago, including the Near West Side.
Formally designated Additional Dwelling Units (ADUs) by the City, these flats also are called coach houses, attic units, and basement units. The granny flat namesake derives from multi-generational housing in which elderly grandparents would live in smaller attached residential units while their children and grandchildren lived in larger, main houses.
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Builders such as Chicago Granny Flats specialize in accessory dwelling units.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot credited the return of the ADUs as part of an effort to provide affordable housing during a time of turmoil for many Chicagoans. “By increasing affordable housing opportunities for renters, while also helping property owners deal with the financial demands of their buildings, these ADUs will be a major step forward in our ongoing work to support our most vulnerable residents and our business community,” Lightfoot said.
The mayor’s office said it is “unknown” how many ADUs currently already exist in Chicago as coach houses and basement and attic apartments; the ordinance’s potential impact remains unclear for both new construction and currently standing structures.
“While we welcome the ordinance, we don’t think it went far enough,” said Kristopher J. Anderson, director of government affairs at the Chicago Association of Realtors.
“We think the City missed an opportunity,” he added, noting that, while the new ordinance targets only specific city areas, it provides an affordability standard for buildings with six more or more total units in which owners adding two or more ADUs will see half those new units restricted as affordable at 60% of area median income. “If you’re capping landlords’ earnings, they’re going to ask themselves, am I really going to do it?” Anderson said.
The Chicago Association of Realtors does not know when building owners might create new ADUs and what volume of construction the city could expect. “When I expect the first one or first 100, it’s way too early” to say, Anderson added.
Concerning future ADU expansion throughout the city, Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th Ward) wants to see the pilot’s results and to have a say in the next phase of the ordinance.
“We are working with the Department of Housing to be in the next ADU pilot addressing some concerns of our residents and allowing more time for public participation and feedback,” said Sigcho-Lopez.
Alderman Walter Burnett (27th Ward) one of the ordinance’s co-sponsors, will see part of his ward, the Near West Side, included in the pilot. It will form part of the Northwest ADU zone with Albany Park, Irving Park, Avondale, Hermosa, Logan Square, West Town, and East Garfield Park.
Burnett noted ADUs offer another advantage because, “Additional dwelling units could supplement mortgage costs and assist folks with the new cost of living.”
Contact Burnett’s office at (312) 432-1995. For the Chicago Association of Realtors, log on to chicagorealtor.com. Contact Sigcho-Lopez’s office at (773) 423-4100.
—Dan Kolen