In a bid to alleviate the persistent headache of meeting parking requirements for housing developments, the City of Chicago enacted a landmark ordinance this past July that aims to ease the burden on developers, particularly those in the nonprofit sector such as Bickerdike Redevelopment Corp.
Joy Aruguete, the organization’s CEO for over two decades, highlighted the complications faced when rehabilitating old buildings or constructing new projects in need of parking.
“It’s a huge issue, especially if you’re rehabbing old buildings, or you’re building in an area that you’re going to have to do parking,” Aruguete stated. “Back in the day, when we were required to do one-for-one [parking], we had to do parking lots in the middle of residential streets. It was awful.”
The ordinance, which passed the City Council on July 16, removes minimum parking requirements for developers constructing housing units near public transit, thereby promoting more affordable housing options for the city’s residents.
Housing experts believe that reducing or eliminating off-street parking can facilitate the addition of more housing units, thereby addressing the pressing issues within Chicago’s housing market.
According to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, nearly 27% of households in Chicago are car-free, based on estimates ranging from 2019 to 2023.
The agency also projected that 45% of the city’s residents own just a single vehicle, underscoring that many Chicagoans rely less on cars than previously thought.
In light of these statistics, eliminating unnecessary parking spaces could enable developers to construct more residences, directly contributing to solving the affordable housing crisis.
A stark analysis from Housing Action Illinois and the National Low Income Housing Coalition revealed a shortage of 289,419 affordable rental units for the lowest-income residents in Illinois, with the city of Chicago alone facing a deficit of 126,165 homes.
The report noted that for every 100 extremely low-income households in the city, only about 32 affordable rental homes exist.
“This is all happening in the context of a housing crisis,” remarked Emily Laflamme, director of urban analytics at the Center for Neighborhood Technology.
According to her, the emphasis on increasing affordable housing is critical, particularly as housing availability continues to dwindle.
The nonprofit organization previously published a 2016 report, titled ‘Stalled Out’, which examined how the abundance of parking lots negatively impacted neighborhood affordability throughout Chicago.
One of the key findings from the report indicated that the city had greatly overbuilt parking in relation to actual demand.
Researchers surveyed 40 residential buildings across Chicago and found that a third of parking spots went unused during peak occupancy hours, with some spaces remaining empty even in the early morning when residents typically parked their cars for the night.
“What Stalled Out showed was not only are we spending a lot of time and money on parking, we’re spending a lot of time and money on unnecessary parking,” Laflamme explained.
The study indicated significant costs related to constructing parking spaces, with expenses ranging from $4,200 for a surface parking lot to $37,300 for underground garages—a financial burden that has only escalated since the report was published.
As the nonprofit prepares a follow-up study due for release in Spring 2026, the push to redefine parking requirements takes on renewed urgency amid rising construction expenses, which have become a significant pressure point for developers.
“We need to be mindful about the costs required to develop affordable housing,” Aruguete stated, emphasizing that cutting the parking minimums around transit centers will alleviate some of the pressures developers face.
This shift also aligns with Mayor Brandon Johnson’s ‘Cut the Tape’ initiative, which proposes over 100 suggestions to streamline the permitting and licensing processes related to developments.
The ordinance also represents an extension of the 2022 Connected Communities Ordinance, which initially began the process of providing more leniency in parking regulations for equitable transit-oriented developments.
Under the new guidelines, developers can avoid the traditional parking mandates if their projects are situated in a transit-oriented area and at least 50% of the housing units are deemed affordable.
By reducing the need for extensive parking, developers can allocate more resources toward constructing additional housing and subsequently lowering rental costs.
Additionally, the ordinance allows developers to repurpose underused parking spaces for alternative uses, such as additional residential units.
“It’s a tangible change that developers will be able to benefit from,” claimed LyLena Estabine, a policy researcher at the Illinois Policy Institute.
She noted that diminishing parking minimums also helps save on land costs and can expedite the approval process, as fewer adjustments are needed from the city council, reducing both time and associated fees.
Despite current high rental rates in the city, analysts anticipate that with the ordinance in effect, new housing projects may help to stabilize prices in the near future.
Alex Cohen, an associate at Interra Realty, predicts substantial impacts from the ordinance, though he mentioned that new projects might take a few years to materialize, with deliveries expected around 2026.
Currently, data from Zumper demonstrates that the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Chicago stands at $2,120, reflecting a 6% increase since July.
Cohen pointed out that neighborhoods such as Jefferson Park and Portage Park, particularly those along the Blue Line, are poised to significantly benefit from these new regulations.
“With the potential for increased density in these areas, I foresee a promising future for affordable housing development,” he affirmed.
Aruguete echoed this sentiment, citing neighborhoods like West Humboldt Park as prime candidates for growth, particularly where residential zones intersect with commercial areas.
“As we reclaim control from speculative investors and channel it to actual developers, I believe we will see significant improvements in housing availability,” she stated.
Tony Manno, a principal planner at the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, urged caution, expressing a desire to observe how the ordinance performs over the next few years.
“I want to see it in action. I want to be able to look at it for a couple years and watch some cranes in the sky and see some buildings go up that employ this new approach to entitlements, and then take a look at the traffic patterns and see if it really has an effect,” Manno emphasized.
Ultimately, the new ordinance represents a significant shift in urban planning and housing policy that could reshape the landscape of affordable housing in Chicago.
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