Portage Park residents and an alderman rejected an affordable housing proposal during a community meeting last night, sending the developer back to the drawing board.

Full Circle Communities proposed a $17M, 55-unit multifamily development at 3655 N Central. Full Circle, which recently completed a similar project in Avondale, wants to set aside 20% of the units for veterans and rent the remainder to families earning around $45k annually, which is 60% of the city's Area Median Income, according to DNA Info.

The site has been vacant for over a decade, but residents' response was overwhelmingly negative, prompting Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th) to back his constituents. The project's manager, Lindsey Haines, says this development would help alleviate an area of town where more than 8,000 people spend over 30% of their income for housing. [DNA]