Mayor Johnson, DPD Announce Spring Purchase Opportunities for Vacant City Lots

More than 600 vacant City lots are available for private purchase starting Wednesday, April 1, including 30 parcels in West Englewood and South Chicago for Missing Middle housing and a 2.6-acre site in Austin that could support up to 140 new homes, Mayor Brandon Johnson and the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) announced today.

"As we continue to confront the housing crisis head-on, my administration is continuing to leverage City resources to create new homes for Chicagoans," said Mayor Brandon Johnson. "By making underutilized and vacant land available for residential construction and other uses, we are creating pathways to make housing more affordable while increasing housing availability citywide."

Spanning 25 wards across the city and valued at $34 million, the lots are being made available through the ChiBlockBuilder.com land sale portal, where buyers can browse an interactive map that includes market values, sizes and potential uses for each available location.

"These parcels offer unique opportunities for buyers to take ownership of their neighborhoods and contribute to local development goals," said DPD Commissioner Ciere Boatright. "This spring's inventory is largest being offered since ChiBlockBuilder launched in 2022."

Approximately 500 lots are available at market rates for new construction projects, 55 for affordable housing through the Department of Housing's City Lots for Working Families program, and 66 for side yards, open space and urban agriculture.

The Missing Middle lots are being offered in five clusters for owner-occupied residential buildings containing up to six units along 69th Street in West Englewood and along South Baker and Buffalo Avenues in South Chicago. To be made available to market rate housing developers, the lots include up to $150,000 in construction assistance per unit and the sale of each parcel for $1.

The Austin site is being offered for redevelopment as townhomes and multi-family buildings. Consisting of 47 lots that represent one of the largest contiguous development sites on the far West Side, the L-shaped location is walking distance to the CTA's Laramie Green Line station, the Madison Street retail corridor and other nearby neighborhood amenities.

Purchase applications are due in 45 or 90 days, depending on location.

The City's vacant lot inventory includes about 7,000 available properties, many of which were acquired through demolition liens over the last 50 years.

For more information, visit ChiBlockBuilder.com, Chicago.gov/MissingMiddle, and Chicago.gov/RFPs.