Julius Rosenwald started making moves toward providing low-cost housing to African Americans in 1914. The African American population of Chicago was greatly growing during the Great Migration, which resulted in the 1919 race riot. This caused Rosenwald to “devote funding to offsetting the Black belt housing crisis,” resulting in the building of the Michigan Boulevard Garden Apartments (nicknamed “the Rosenwald”). The building was closed in 2000 due to a leaky gas pipe, and it’s physical condition has deteriorated ever since. However, nearly 15 years later, a permit has finally been received to renovate the apartments, and the development team is hoping that they will be completed by 2016. The new complex will be called the Rosenwald Courts, and the official groundbreaking ceremony occurred in February.
