A $17 million affordable housing project cleared its biggest funding hurdle in June when state authorities approved more than $12 million in tax credits for Keystone Apartments, a 36-unit building planned for 1106 Madison St. in Oak Park. The five-story building will replace the former Fellowship Christian Church, a storefront church that occupied the site.

Construction is targeted for fall 2027, with an estimated 2029 opening.

The site and how it got here

Oak Park's Village Board authorized $1 million from its Affordable Housing Trust Fund in February 2026 to purchase the property from Fellowship Christian Church, securing the land while developers pursued state and federal funding. The property has since been transferred to Interfaith Housing Development Corporation, the nonprofit managing the project.

The Illinois Housing Development Authority approved two tax credit awards at a June 2026 meeting: the federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and the state Illinois Affordable Housing Tax Credit. Together, they will generate more than $12 million toward the project's roughly $17 million total cost, according to the village's weekly report dated July 10, 2026.

The approval came on Interfaith's third application after two prior denials over nearly five years of development work.

"It always feels great to get funded because once you get a tax credit award, that means the project is going to happen," Perry Vietti, head of Interfaith Housing Development Corporation, told the Wednesday Journal on July 14.

Who it serves

All 36 units will house people earning less than 30% of the area median income. Interfaith is partnering with Housing Forward, a nonprofit focused on ending homelessness, to operate the building and provide on-site social services.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois has committed to a three-year rental subsidy covering 20 of the 36 units, bridging the gap between what residents can afford and what it costs to run the building, according to the Wednesday Journal.

Village officials called the funding a critical milestone for the project in a July 9 statement. Village President Vicki Scaman said the project reflects the board's priorities around socioeconomic diversity.

What comes next

Vietti told the Wednesday Journal that the immediate next step is completing construction drawings, a process he estimated would take a few months. Interfaith is targeting a fall 2027 construction start, according to the Chicago Tribune, with completion expected in 2029.