548 Development Breaks Ground on Chicago’s Largest Building Incorporating Passive House Design Standards June 12, 2025

At the end of May, IFF borrower 548 Development celebrated the groundbreaking for Humboldt Park Passive Living, a mixed-use project in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood that will include 48 apartments affordable to residents earning up to 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI), 12 market rate apartments, and 9,000 square feet of commercial and community space that will benefit the entire neighborhood. Thirteen of the studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments will be reserved for people with disabilities, providing a high-quality, accessible living environment. Residents and community members will benefit from a wide range of amenities that will include on-site fitness equipment, parking, a roof gathering space, outdoor green space, and rotating arts displays.

The brainchild of 548 Enterprise Founder and CEO A.J. Patton, who IFF featured in a 2022 Q&A, the new, energy efficient facility will incorporate solar power and offer electric vehicle charging stations. Once completed, the four-story facility will be the largest building in the City of Chicago to incorporate Passive House Design standards, which will reduce utility costs for residents and minimize the facility’s environmental impact.

The first lender committed to the project, IFF provided 548 Development with a $1.5 million predevelopment loan in April 2022. Additional sources of funding and financing for the $48 million development include the City of Chicago Department of Housing, the City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development, Tax Increment Financing, and tax credits from the Illinois Housing Development Authority. The previously vacant lots on which Humboldt Park Passive Living will sit were sold to 548 Development by the City of Chicago for $1 each.

Below, we’ve included a round-up of media coverage and social media posts highlighting the May 29th groundbreaking ceremony for the project, which included remarks from IFF’s managing director of partnership management, Brett Mueller; Patton; and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, among others.