Henry Bros. Co. is building Conservatory Apartments, 414 N. Central Park Boulevard, located just north of the landmark Garfield Park Conservatory in Chicago. The four-story, 24,709 S.F. building will include 43 units on floors two through four. The ground floor common space will feature a community room, a bicycle-storage room, and laundry facilities for residents, along with property management and social services offices.

The Conservatory Apartments represent the first large-scale, multi-unit, affordable housing project in Chicago designed to meet the Passive House Institute of the United States (PHIUS) standard. Five basic principles that drive PHIUS design include no thermal bridging, superior windows, mechanical ventilation and heat recovery, quality insulation, and airtight construction. To date, the only other Passive House-certified affordable housing project in Chicago has just six units.

Developed by Interfaith Housing Development Corporation (IHDC), Conservatory Apartments will serve two populations in need of permanent, supportive housing. Of the 43 units, 34 will house individuals who have been chronically homeless and have a disability, and the remaining nine units will be for persons from the Illinois State Referral Network (SRN).

The project was designed by the national architecture and engineering firm HED, which has worked with IHDC before on affordable housing developments with ambitious sustainability goals.

To provide residents with supportive programming in addition to housing, IHDC is partnering with Deborah’s Place, a nonprofit provider of housing and services to persons who have experienced homelessness, and Trilogy Behavioral Healthcare, a comprehensive integrated care agency that enables people in mental health recovery to build meaningful and independent lives.

The Conservatory Apartments are slated for completion in late 2023.