The Foglia Residences was the recipient of a Chicago Building Congress Merit Award. Located adjacent to The Chicago Lighthouse in the Illinois Medical District, The Foglia Residences is a nine-story building that incorporates 76 affordable apartments for residents who are blind, visually impaired, disabled, and veterans, along with parking and retail space. This groundbreaking development is the first Low-Income Housing Tax Credit building in the nation for the blind community.
The units are designed to provide accessible, independent living with solid surface kitchen countertops for added durability, appliances with front controls and tactile operation, dimmable lighting, and high-contrast flooring and finishes. The common areas offer contrasting colors, braille signage, handrails in the corridors, braille wallpaper, and elevators with audible signals.
The joint venture team of McShane Construction Company and Ashlaur Construction successfully delivered the project after more than 120,000 project man-hours with a safety record notably better than the national average.