Affordable Housing

AFFORDABLE HOUSING

We believe that fair housing is a human rights issue.  Strata supports fair and affordable housing in Chicago.  It is our mission to provide excellent affordable housing options in thriving, desirable neighborhoods.

Affordable housing and the social justice issues that surround it has a long history in Chicago.  Strata partners with the Chicago Housing Authority to offer rental units to tenants participating in the Housing Choice Voucher Program.  This program helps families to find and pay for affordable housing in the buildings and neighborhoods that best suit their needs.  In contrast to outdated models of affordable housing that concentrated tenants in large, isolated housing projects, this program allows tenants to live near their jobs, schools, and public spaces and amenities that are so important to a family's prosperity and happiness. The Housing Choice Voucher Program helps qualifying tenants locate a desired private-market unit and then provides a portion of the monthly rental payment.

More than a market

Affordable housing is more than a market: it’s a cause and an ethos that helps families live and work in the neighborhoods they call home.  Affordable Housing laws and practices safeguard against the pressures of gentrification that oftentimes force families with deep roots in their communities out of their neighborhoods.

Restoration and Rehabilitation

Chicago's architectural traditions have had a worldwide influence ever since the first skyscraper, the Home Insurance Building, was completed in 1885 at LaSalle and Adams.  But Chicago's many architectural treasures include both massive, steel-frame skyscrapers and residential homes and apartments alike.

Strata strives to restore and preserve the distinct architectural features enjoyed by generations of local families in all of our acquisitions.

About Housing Choice Vouchers

Strata provides rental housing to tenants participating in the Housing Choice Voucher Program (formerly known as Section 8).  Founded in 1973, this federal program enabled individuals and families to secure stable, safe, high-quality housing that they would otherwise struggle to afford.

It works like this:  a tenant is awarded a voucher by the Chicago Housing Authority.  They then seek out any unit of their choice on the private market.  When they find their desired unit, the tenant, the CHA, and the landlord formulate a contract determining a rental payment plan.  Generally, voucher-holding tenants pay about 30% of the cost of rent and utilities, with the CHA paying the balance.

This is a win-win program for tenants and landlords (and Strata investors), as the tenant is able to secure a high-quality unit in a desirable neighborhood, and the landlord is guaranteed full rental payment for the duration of the lease by the CHA.