CHICAGO—Related Companies is in the process of acquiring 17 properties totaling about 3,000 affordable housing units across the Midwest, including many as part of a public-private partnership with the City of Chicago and Illinois Housing Development Authority. The deal will preserve about 1,500 units in the city and extends by three decades the affordable designation of the 628-unit Marshall Field Garden Apartments in the Old Town neighborhood on the North Side, which was due to expire in 2017.

Related has also purchased Metroplex Inc., a Chicago-based affordable property management company that manages the Marshall Field complex, located at 1448 N. Sedgwick St., and dozens of others across four states. In addition to these acquisitions, over the past two years Related officials say they have acquired 3,196 units and expects to close on another 1,027 affordable units later this year.

“While Related is perhaps most widely known for its luxury residential developments, our company was founded more than four decades ago with the goal of developing new and retaining existing affordable housing,” says Curt Bailey, president of Related Midwest, the Chicago office of Related Companies. “Today's announcement demonstrates our pledge to expandhousing options across all income levels.”