At its core, the Chicago Housing Authority aims to support residents earning up to 30 percent of the area median income, but its goals have substantially broadened over the past few years.
“Our role has evolved from just being a housing provider to serving as a platform for resident stability and upward mobility,” said CHA Deputy Chief of Development Rishab Mehan.
Currently, the organization is assisting residents through financial coaching, addressing environmental safety, supporting homeownership, while also investing in mixed-income developments. As of today, the organization has worked on 77 communities across the city and with more than 135,000 residents.
In this interview with MHN, Mehan and Jennifer Hoyle, CHA’s deputy chief of staff, strategy and insights, provide details about Chicago’s housing affordability crisis and the multiple verticals that need to align to efficiently overcome it.
READ ALSO: Can Zoning Changes Boost Affordable Housing?
What are the most pressing concerns in the Chicago affordable housing space today?
Hoyle: The most urgent concern is the growing affordability gap, particularly for households at or below 30 percent AMI. In Chicago, that’s earning $25,200 annually for one person and $32,970 for a family of four in 2025, according to the city’s data published annually. The number of people needing affordable housing is increasing, but the supply of units available is decreasing. There are concerns about the supply of housing units at all levels of income, whether it’s with extremely low-income individuals and families or homeowners.
Mehan: Also, construction costs are rising, rents are increasing, and the cost of homeownership is climbing. That puts pressure on both the development side and the voucher side, where rising rents mean CHA needs to contribute more to subsidies while navigating a complex and evolving pool of federal funding.
How many units are needed to make a meaningful impact on low-income residents’ lives? What’s your assessment?
Hoyle: Estimates vary, but studies suggest Chicago needs 150,000-200,000 affordable units to meet current demand. DePaul University’s Institute of Housing Studies placed the number at around 120,000 a few years ago, but a new internal analysis, backed by our waitlist data, indicates that the gap is growing. While individuals can be on more than one waitlist, it still reflects the overwhelming demand for affordable housing across the city and those numbers do not necessarily include the unsheltered or unhoused population.
In this context, what role are you actively playing in expanding the city’s affordable housing needs?
Hoyle: CHA is directly developing affordable housing on CHA-owned land, preserving existing units, and partnering with outside developers to increase affordability in neighborhoods where CHA didn’t historically have a significant presence, such as Humboldt Park and Logan Square.
Mehan: In 2024, we delivered 687 units, with 770 more under construction. As of July 2025, we’ve already delivered 270 new units and have 603 more underway. These developments include CHA units, affordable housing and market-rate units that support mixed-income communities across the city.
What factors do you consider when selecting private or institutional partners for your affordable housing projects?
Mehan: We look for mission alignment with CHA’s values and a strong, resident-focused approach. Affordable housing development is highly technical, with most projects involving at least seven or eight funding sources, and some can have up to 12 or more. As the policy and funding landscape becomes increasingly complex, our partners must bring deep affordable housing experience.
A demonstrated commitment to engaging residents and the broader community in a meaningful way is equally important. We prioritize partners who understand that these projects are not just about financial returns, and that they reflect the realities of operating affordable housing long-term and deliver genuine social impact.
Besides high construction costs, what would you say are the biggest barriers in accelerating affordable housing development, especially in high-demand neighborhoods?
Mehan: From a planning standpoint, these sites are often more complex and tend to be more densely developed, which means we must navigate a greater number of site constraints and engage in more extensive conversations with neighbors and local stakeholders. Physical limitations such as narrow lots, limited access points or other challenges like staging construction equipment, can also slow down the process. These areas often require more coordination, additional approvals and increased problem-solving, which can delay timelines and add to costs.
We often have more engagement in communities where CHA historically has not had a presence. In the last five to six years, we’ve successfully added affordable housing in areas like Humboldt Park and Logan Square, while also helping revitalize neighborhoods that have faced long-term disinvestment. This dual approach allows CHA to address both the shortage of affordable housing in high-opportunity neighborhoods and the need for reinvestment in historically underserved areas.
Tell us more about how you’re collaborating with the City of Chicago to leverage city-owned land or public incentives to support new affordable housing development.
Mehan: Most CHA projects involve collaboration with the City of Chicago, whether that’s low-income housing tax credit funding, tax increment financing or other federal funds that are administered by and through the City.
We also actively coordinate on land use and special initiatives. For example, we have a joint request for proposals going to our Board of Commissioners that involves a CHA-owned lot adjacent to a city-owned lot. Together, we’re developing a shared vision for the revitalization of that currently vacant block in Bronzeville. CHA also serves on the City’s Cut the Tape Task Force, which helps streamline processes to make development faster and more efficient across the city.
READ ALSO: How State and Local Initiatives Are Bridging the Affordable Housing Gap
Beyond housing, what support services or programs do you provide to ensure residents remain economically stable?
Hoyle: One of our cornerstone initiatives is the LevelUp program, which helps residents achieve financial stability while working toward their educational, professional and personal goals. LevelUp offers a personalized pathway to economic independence, equipping residents with the tools they need for long-term success.
We also support homeownership through our Choose to Own program, which allows eligible residents to use their housing subsidy toward purchasing a home. In addition, our down payment assistance program, which we launched a couple of years ago, has been highly successful.
For voucher holders, we offer mobility counseling and exception payment standards to support residents considering moving to different community areas throughout the city. This includes providing information about housing options, access to transportation, school quality and other local resources, empowering families to make informed choices that best serve their needs.
In what ways do you assess the success of your affordable housing initiatives and services?
Hoyle: CHA measures the success of our affordable housing initiatives through a combination of output performance benchmarks and long-term impact indicators. To assess the long-term viability and success of communities we serve, our property and asset management team plays a key role. We’ve expanded our asset management team to ensure a strong oversight of our housing portfolio.
Asset managers collect and analyze data on operating costs, site performance and resident experience. They conduct quarterly and annual check-ins with partners to ensure sites are operating as intended, and most importantly, residents are experiencing the quality of life we’ve committed to delivering.
Mehan: For development, our primary focus is on delivery and execution. We closely track the number of units delivered, whether they are completed on time and within budget and the mix of housing types, including CHA-owned units, affordable units and market-rate units.
READ ALSO: All Eyes Fixed on Federal Housing Proposals
Looking ahead, what do you consider to be the most important steps in easing the housing affordability crisis in Chicago?
Mehan: Tackling Chicago’s housing affordability challenges is a large, multi-dimensional problem that doesn’t have a single solution. One of the most important steps we can take as CHA is working with our partners to set clear, shared goals that all stakeholders align on and understand what role they need to play. That doesn’t mean every agency or partner must work on the same parts of the puzzle, but there must be clarity, consistency and coordination as we work toward collective impact.
We also need to ensure stable and sustainable funding, not just to expand affordable housing but to preserve and maintain what already exists. From a development perspective, this means continuing to drive projects forward, securing resources for new construction, and investing in the long-term viability of existing properties.
Hoyle: Given today’s political and economic landscape, we face the dual challenge of expanding housing capacity while also defending current funding levels. This challenge isn’t unique to Chicago. It’s a national one. Maintaining, and ideally increasing, federal funding support is essential if we are going to meet the scale of need, and continue to deliver safe and affordable housing for our communities now and for years to come.
The post Tackling Chicago’s Affordable Housing Issue: A Conversation With CHA Officials appeared first on Multi-Housing News.
Gillian Executive Search is a leader in Affordable Housing Development, Financing, Design and Construction recruiting. www.gessearch.com