Benjamin Van Horne, president of Greenline Development, won a Good Neighbor Award for the construction of six new affordable condo buildings in Woodlawn, including 6617 S. Ingleside. “Winning the award is quite an honor,” said Van Horne. A diverse group of new construction and renovated mixed-use, commercial and multi-unit residential developments are among the 31 winners of this year's Good Neighbor Awards presented by the Chicago Association of Realtors.
The annual laurels are given to honor the rehabilitation and new construction efforts by local homeowners and developers in the city who have made a positive impact on a neighborhood.
The winners, and six honorable mentions, were selected from among 42 nominations from property owners, developers and community groups across the city. The awards are given in recognition of efforts such as sweat equity, vision, courage to tackle stigmatized buildings and efforts to salvage historical properties or rescue architecturally significant buildings from the wrecking ball.
"These awards exemplify the commitment of the individual not only to business but to the community," said David Hanna, 2009 president of CAR.
"When you see these properties and what these people have done, it shows that there is both a way to make money in the building and renovation business and at the same time be good citizens of the community. All of these buildings have made their neighborhoods better," said Hanna, who is also a managing partner of Prudential Source One Realty.
The 2009 Good Neighbor Awards were recently announced at a special awards banquet at the Doubletree Hotel Chicago Magnificent Mile. This year, many of the winners were recognized for their efforts to blend in with their neighborhoods, "go green" with environmentally friendly features, or renovate traumatized properties under challenging circumstances.
One of this year's top winners was Greenline Development Inc., a housing development company that builds affordable residences on the city's South Side. Greenline Development won CAR's top laurel, the 2009 Bruce Abrams Award, for the construction of six new condominium buildings in the Woodlawn neighborhood.
The properties include: The Cairo, 6604 S. Kimbark; The Memphis, 6600 S. Kimbark; The Annapolis, 6608 S. Maryland; The Myers, 6617 S. Ingleside; The Hathaway, 6614 S. Ingleside, and The Baldwin, 6625 S. Ingleside.
"These condos have introduced a new model for affordable housing to the Woodlawn neighborhood," said the award judges CAR. The project was built in cooperation with the Department of Community Development, as part of the City Lots for City Living program, which allows applicants to purchase vacant city-owned land to develop affordable housing. Construction began in June 2005.
CAR judges said that Greenline Development's condos "represent some of the highest quality condos at affordable prices found in the Chicago area and are a departure from the look of affordable housing in the past." The winning buildings feature energy-efficient construction and details such as stainless steel appliances, Moen fixtures and granite countertops.
"Winning the award is quite an honor and helps build our reputation even further as responsible developers," said Benjamin Van Horne, president of Greenline Development Inc. "Also, I was very much an admirer of Bruce Abrams and it's an honor to be associated with his name in any way."
Abrams, who died in 1999, was a local real estate developer known for tireless energy and ambition as well as for the care and taste with which he approached renovation projects in historic and aging properties.
