On September 29, 2015 Over The Rainbow celebrated the grand opening of their first LIHTC development, Southwick Place.
From concept to completion, Lightengale Group professionally guided Over the Rainbow to bring this project to life. “Lightengale Group was the rudder that kept us on course”, said Eric Huffman, Over The Rainbow’s executive director.
Located at 5150 Southwick Drive in Matteson, Southwick Place provides an affordable, accessible housing option for lower income adults who depend on wheelchairs for mobility or otherwise have a need for mobility features. Built around the needs of the residents, Southwick Place includes a long laundry list of special design features (above typically mandated accessibility requirements) in order to ensure maximum independence for individuals with very limited motion. Attesting to this was Debra Cowley, a quadriplegic resident whose larger wheelchair is easily able to manage through the unit. Click here to see an ABC spotlight on Southwick.
The Grand Opening had a large community turnout. The Village of Matteson officially welcomed the residents with open arms and kind words about welcoming the residents into the community and hoping to serve them well. Other speakers included Katherine Mazzocco from BMO Harris, Rachel Rhodes from National Equity Fund, and Sheryl Sieling from the Housing Authority of Cook County. Dennis Langley, of Weese Langley Weese Architects, described his thoughts in designing the colorful and warm building. “The building colors bring an identity, liveliness and a sense of place in the large open site context of the building. The choice of colors respect and anchor to the rural location using a deep sky blue, a spring green and light and dark cloud grays.” Every detail of Southwick place was chosen to ensure the happiness of the residents, and the finished building demonstrates that effort.