By Ariel Parrella-Aureli, Block Club Chicago | July 7th, 2025 (Click Here For Original Article)
Modular house company Inherent Homes is also building six single-family homes and one two-flat building on vacant Humboldt Park land in partnership with the city.
HUMBOLDT PARK — Two plots of vacant land in Humboldt Park have been transformed into houses, the first set of completed factory-built homes for the neighborhood under a pilot program.
The homes at 822-824 N. Homan Ave. were built by Inherent Homes, a modular home company with a factory in North Lawndale that’s one of the few developers building affordable homes and offering home ownership pathways in the city. The Humboldt Park houses are part of a $12 million Cook County pilot program that’s bringing 12 homes to the neighborhood this year.
The initiative, a partnership between Inherent, the Cook County Bureau of Economic Development and the Cook County Land Bank Authority, will ultimately create 120 homes in Cook County over the next few years. People who earn up to 120 percent of the county’s median income are eligible for the program, according to the program website.
Sarah and Melissa, who didn’t want to share their last names for privacy reasons, are two of the first soon-to-be homeowners for one of the West Humboldt Park homes that’s nearly complete.
“We came across one of these units and it seemed almost too good to be true, and then we saw it in person, and then it got really, really real really quickly,” Melissa told Block Club at the ribbon-cutting event for the Humboldt Park homes last week.
The couple live in Uptown and were looking for an affordable home closer to Melissa’s job, as she works as a welder in Garfield Park. Having a home near her work and getting financial assistance to buy one still feels “unreal,” they said.
“All the collaboration between the different agencies is amazing, but it’s also anxiety-inducing. But it seems like it’s gonna happen, so we’re really excited,” Sarah said.
Each three-bedroom home sells for about $350,000 and includes $20,000 in down payment assistance through the Land Bank Authority, making it affordable as the area fights gentrification. Nearby houses for sale are going for $525,000-$800,000.
The homes have modern smart appliances, two bathrooms, two living rooms and amenities like in-unit washer and dryer, parking and a yard — because everyone deserves a new, upscale home, no matter their income, said Inherent founder Tim Swanson.
“If we take all our civic land and make it available for just our everyday Chicagoan, we can move the needle,” Swanson said. “If we replace vacant lands with housing, we have families that are going to schools, we have a tax basis that supports more things … a lot of this has been leveraging our banking partners, nonprofits like the Chicago Community Trust and government officials.”
Cook County officials at last week’s ribbon-cutting event called the homes victories for Humboldt Park.
It takes eight weeks for the homes to be built inside the factory, cutting build time in half — if not more — compared to market-rate housing, Swanson said. Another home on a vacant lot in the area is being built conventionally, and it only has its foundation completed, though it’s been under construction since last year, he said.
Inherent is also working to construct a two-flat building and a bungalow that will be built on vacant land as part of the program to increase accessible price points for homeowners, Swanson said.
Swanson sees his company as not only offering attainable home ownership but also giving West Siders needed jobs in the trades, ones they enjoy and that positively impact their community, he said.
“Where our factory is in North Lawndale, we’re like eight blocks away from where the Sears factory was 100 years ago, where they were building the Sears catalog, so there’s something dope about the West Side [building] — remember, we used to do this? Let’s do it again,” he said.
Swanson and his team are working with more families from the neighborhood interested in buying one of the Inherent homes.
The Cook County Modular Home Program builds on Inherent’s success in bringing 10 homes to Humboldt Park under the city’s Building Neighborhoods and Affordable Homes Program for new homeowners, some of which are still being built and sold.
Inherent is building six single-family homes and one two-flat on vacant Humboldt Park land and is working with Ald. Jessie Fuentes (26th) to bring more homes to vacant lots in Humboldt Park, Swanson and the alderperson said.
Separately, Fuentes has partnered with a small development company that will develop four city-owned vacant lots into affordable housing, and two lots will go to Here To Stay Community Land Trust, another home ownership program aimed at helping low-income Chicagoans stay on the Northwest Side.
KMW Communities, another affordable development firm focusing on bringing housing to the South and West sides, is also building concept homes on vacant West Humboldt Park land selling for $400,000-$700,000, company officials previously told Block Club.