By: Ashmar Mandou
Since its inception in 1987, Lawndale Christian Community Church, currently Lawndale Christian Development Corporation (LCDC), has been at the forefront of addressing social issues and building, eliminating disparities, and building community wealth. To celebrate the organization’s history, LCDC invitees all to join them for the “Reawakening North Lawndale” Gala to mark the organization’s 37 years of steadfast commitment to revitalizing the community.
“I am most excited to showcase the seeds we have been planting. We are in a moment of opportunity for North Lawndale; this event is a celebration of an opportunity and the work we are putting in North Lawndale for the families of North Lawndale, for the people who are from North Lawndale who are moving back to North Lawndale. Trying to bring certainty to the community during uncertain times but do that through a vision that is crafted by north Lawndale natives. So, it’s just a celebration of community and community voices and the impact of our work,” said Whittney Smith, deputy director and counsel for LCDC.
Throughout the LCDC history, it has grown the North Lawndale Homeowners Association. There are 250 people in the organization and it is made of people who live in North Lawndale and are part of other Homeowners Associations. That collective has been able to band together and get the city of Chicago to put $2.2 million in the Chicago Public Library at Homan and 13th. It also has been able to get land for new single family homes in North Lawndale, which is part of the organization’s mission to build 1,000 single family homes in the community.
Over the past few decades, LCDC has developed more than 200 units of affordable housing and overseen around $120 million of residential and commercial redevelopment in North Lawndale, like building the Carole Robertson Center and local Lou Malnati’s. In August, LCDC celebrated the renovated Lazarus Apartments, 48-unit affordable rental housing development in the North Lawndale neighborhood. The Lazarus Apartments offers 1, 2, and 3-bedroom units, including accessible and adaptable options, with rents ranging from $700 for a one-bedroom to $1,100 for a three-bedroom. The project was supported by the City of Chicago, the Illinois Housing Development Authority, Chase Bank, the Steans Family Foundation and the Pritzker Foundation.
“From a personal standpoint it represents the acknowledgment of all that has happened in and to North Lawndale. It represents the journey and the moment of history when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., identified North Lawndale as the place where he needed to be. He didn’t come here because North Lawndale was so great, and it would be a comfortable place for him to have his family. Where he could have his family. He came to North Lawndale because he knew it was the place he absolutely needed to be to fight slum housing and wage his poor people’s campaign. The story arc of the neighborhood is such that our journey to thriving, which is where we are hoping to arrive to has been a long one. So “reawakening” is that spark; that seed planted like we have been doing over the course of a year to push us forward. To really begin to blossom and produce in a way that the community needs to begin to thrive,” said Smith.
LCDC offers a homebuyer education course that educates people on the process of becoming a homeowner. There is also a financial coach to help people repair and improve their credit while they are on the path to homeownership. If you are interested in learning more about the LCDC or the next Lawndale United session, visit www.lcdc.net. The “Reawakening North Lawndale” Gala will take place on January 17th from 5:30p.m., to 9:30p.m., at Bridgeport Art Center, 1200 W. 35th Street. If you are interested in purchasing tickets to the gala, visit www.lcdc.net.
Photo Credit: Lawndale Christian Development Corporation (LCDC)
