History of The Greens..

 

1942: Frances Cabrini Rowhouses are built.

• The Frances Cabrini Homes were built for war workers and veterans on Chicago's Near North Side, a formerly blighted area known as "Little Hell".
• The original 586-unit development consisted of two-story rowhouses, some of which housed Italian American and Irish families.

1957: 

 completed.

 

• Cabrini Extension
  , a series of red-brick mid- and high-rise apartment buildings, was completed, adding 1,925 units to the complex.
• As Chicago's "white flight" accelerated, racial quotas were abandoned, and the complex became predominantly African American.

1962: 

 open.

 

• The final stage of the development, the William Green Homes, added another 1,096 units in high-rise buildings.
• The entire development was named Cabrini-Green and eventually housed up to 15,000 residents.

1966: Gautreaux v. Chicago Housing Authority is filed.

• A lawsuit was filed alleging that the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) deliberately perpetuated racial segregation by concentrating Black public housing residents in isolated, high-rise projects.
• A federal judge found the CHA guilty in 1969, a ruling that would eventually shape redevelopment policies.

1974: The sitcom Good Times debuts.

• The TV show, set in a high-rise project implied to be Cabrini-Green, brought the complex's public housing challenges to national attention.

1981: Mayor Jane Byrne moves in.

• In a highly publicized effort to highlight and address the complex's high crime rate, Mayor Jane Byrne and her husband moved into an apartment in Cabrini-Green for a few weeks.

1992: Dantrell Davis is killed.

• Seven-year-old Dantrell Davis was killed by a sniper's bullet while walking to school with his mother. The nationally reported murder was a major catalyst for action from the city.

1994: Chicago receives HOPE VI grant.

• The city received one of the first Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere (HOPE VI) grants from the federal government, marking the official start of redevelopment planning for a mixed-income community.

1995: Demolition of high-rises begins.

• The demolition process for the high-rise buildings at Cabrini-Green officially began.

1999: The Plan for Transformation is introduced.

• The Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) launched its $1.5 billion Plan for Transformation, which would replace Cabrini-Green's public housing with mixed-income developments.

2011: The last high-rise building is demolished.

• After years of gradual deconstruction, the final high-rise building was torn down on March 30, effectively completing the demolition of the complex's towers.

2015-present: Mixed-income development and revitalization continues.

• New residential and commercial construction has taken place on the former Cabrini-Green site.
• The Chicago Housing Authority continues to oversee redevelopment efforts, including the recent "Cabrini NOW" plan that provides a framework for the remaining vacant parcels.

2025: Final phase of development begins.

• In May, developers broke ground on the final phase of the Parkside at Old Town development, marking the final stage of CHA replacement housing commitments.
• Construction on another 7-acre plot is also set to begin, bringing more mixed-income apartments and condos to the site.