ADUs Were Banned in Chicago for Almost 70 Years. This Woman Just Built One of the First
After the city recently lifted restrictions, Beth Malloy and her son bought a home and built a coach house at the rear that keeps their family close.
After the city recently lifted restrictions, Beth Malloy and her son bought a home and built a coach house at the rear that keeps their family close.
When Beth Malloy learned her son and daughter-in-law were preparing to have a child and move from their one-bedroom apartment on Chicago’s Near North Side to a home on the city’s edge, she realized she had to make a bold move to remain close to her son’s family and preserve the lifestyle she cherished.
So, in December 2020, when Chicago city council passed an additional dwelling unit (ADU) ordinance to allow for new construction of detached houses on parcels with existing residences, Beth, a Microsoft sales lead in her 60s, proposed pooling resources with her son to buy a property they could share, occupying separate buildings.
"I felt he and his wife would have a really hard time finding something they could afford that they’d be able to stay in," Beth says. "I was looking for ways to help with the down payment. I knew what their limitation was, or what they could spend. And I knew they were going to have a child."
See the full story on Dwell.com: ADUs Were Banned in Chicago for Almost 70 Years. This Woman Just Built One of the First
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