St. Edmond's Redevelopment Corporation is the lead agency for the New Communities Program in Washington Park.
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The Washington Park Quality of Life Plan is available for download.
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St. Edmund's Redevelopment Corporation's (SERC) mission is to renew the Washington Park Neighborhood by developing quality affordable housing and fostering community revitalization opportunities for all people.
Leaders of St. Edmund's Episcopal Church established SERC in 1990, as a separate legal entity that operates independently of the church, in response to the lack of community-based development efforts and resources for neighborhood improvement and investment in Washington Park.
SERC's designated boundaries are Garfield Boulevard on the north, 63rd Street on the south, King Drive on the east, and State Street on the west. The agency employs a full-time staff of five and is governed by a nine-person board comprised of corporate, civic and neighborhood leaders.
SERC has pursued four primary strategies to accomplish its mission: (1) mobilize resources to address the physical and economic conditions of the neighborhood; (2) initiate collaborative efforts to improve the neighborhood's social and civic life; (3) set planning, revitalization and development standards for the Washington Park Nneighborhood; (4) create financing models that can be replicated successfully in other impoverished areas.
SERC has faced formidable challenges in its efforts to revitalize Washington Park. From 1960 to 1990, the neighborhood experienced significant housing abandonment, middle-class flight, commercial collapse, and social disinvestment.
Historically, the neighborhood was the southern end of Chicago's famous "Black Belt." In 1970, this area was home to over 46,000 people, slightly over a quarter (25.9 percent) of whom lived below the poverty level.
By the 1990 Census, Washington Park had fewer than 20,000 residents and ranked fifth among Chicago's seventy-seven (77) neighborhood areas in terms of poverty indices. Unemployment levels topped 31.1 percent, the annual median income was $8,403, and 82.7 percent of families received some form of public assistance.
Figures from the 2000 Census indicate that slightly more than 14,000 people live in Washington Park, of whom 98 percent are African American and nearly 38 percent are children under 18 years old.
The significant population decrease over the past decade is attributable, in large measure, to the demolition of several high rise public housing facilities, continuing abandonment of multi-family housing stock, and large tracts of vacant land.
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Introducing the agency board and staff of St. Edmund's Redevelopment Corporation
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St. Edmund's Redevelopment Corporation, the NCP lead agency in Washington Park, has a variety of fruitful partnerships with community and citywide agencies and offices.
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