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CHICAGO-Construction could begin next year on a long-awaited redevelopment of the Cabrini-Green public housing complex on the city's North Side. A partnership involving Chicago Housing Authority residents as well as two developers will embark on two 395-unit, $250-million phases on 18 acres at Division and Larabee streets.

The 790-unit Parkside of Old Town mixed-income redevelopment, endorsed in recent days by the planning commission, calls for 50% of the units to be sold at market rates, 20% at "affordable" prices and 30% set aside as rental units for residents displaced by the demolition of the public housing project. The development team consists of Holsten Real Estate Development Corp., Kimball Hill Urban Centers and the Cabrini Green LAC Community Development Corp. "It's a very fascinating partnership," says Holsten, whose company has built the nearby 261-unit North Town Village mixed-income project.

The redevelopment is part of the $1.5-billion CHA "Plan for Transformation," which has torn down high-rise public housing towers and replaced them with similar mixed-income, mixed-use neighborhoods. However, the Cabrini-Green redevelopment has taken longer than most. "This really started in 1995," says 27th Ward Alderman Walter Burnett. "So we're long overdue. During that time, a lot of people's lives have been in transition and in shambles."