Dozens of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning seniors now have a new place to call home in Chicago.
Lakeview’s Town Hall Apartments opened Thursday with 79 studio and one-bedroom units filled with LGBTQ residents who are 55 and older.
“Before, I’d get crude and hurtful remarks, cold stares and sneers,” said resident Eva Sky. “Now I get hellos, smiles and hugs, which I love.”
It’s a project that was roughly 10 years in making for Ald. Tom Tunney, and it fills a void for some of the 40,000 LGBTQ seniors in Chicago, where one in five live in poverty.
“People want to stay in our neighborhood as they age,” said Tunney. “Now we have affordable housing to support that goal.”
Town Hall Apartments is the first and only LGBTQ-friendly affordable housing complex for seniors in the Midwest, and only the third to open in the U.S.
The apartments replace the historic Town Hall police station, known for being a symbol of gay discrimination in the past. The Center on Halsted plans to move its senior services program to the new apartment complex, providing even more support to residents.
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“Just to be a part of the LGBT community is immense and to be with other people who are my same age,” said resident Carmen Garcia.
