in 1961 and were made up of three 16-story buildings (450 units). One of the three buildings, Racine, was demolished in 1998. The remaining two buildings were demolished in 2001. The Loomis Courts were built in 1951, and the 126-unit complex consisted of two seven-story buildings. Instead of coming from public housing funds, project funding came from city and state funds. In 2005, the CHA started a 2-phase rehabilitation process that preserved the property as affordable rental housing. Cross Ashland Just west of the ABLA's was a small neighborhood affectionately known as "'cross Ashland," named for the southern twang where many residents of the downtown and the projects pronounced its location. Bordered by Ashland Ave. to the east, Western Ave. on the west, the 15th Pl. train tracks to the south and Roosevelt Rd. on the north. This area originally went as far north as Polk, pre-dating the Medical district. Many black and Jewish people lived in the area through much of the 20th century until the late sixties when most Jews, Poles, and Italians moved away. Cross Ashland also extended east all the way to Halsted. Before the ABLA homes were constructed many black people worked at the various rail yard companies at 15th St. before the companies all moved to foreign lands and the suburbs. They were proud to leave the oppressive south and work arduous hours to feed families and attend barbecues. In 2005 this community of roughly 10,000 in the fifties and 5,000 in the nineties was eventually brought to an end in a mass fire sale to land developers. Today the Cross Ashland area remains underdeveloped save for the new FBI building and University Police Station. Crime and violence The housing projects were plagued by street gangs, drugs, and violent crimes. Most notably, the ABLA development was controlled by factions of the Black Gangster Disciples. In mid-1986, Break-ins by entry through bathroom medicine cabinets began occurring in the Abbott buildings. The bathrooms in the apartments at the end of each floor were separated by only two feet of crawl space. Space was generally created for plumbers and janitors to have easy access to the pipes in the buildings. Ruth Mae McCoy On April 22, 1987, 52-year-old Ruth Mae McCoy was murdered by someone who entered her 11th floor Abbott apartment (1440 W. 13th St.) through her bathroom cabinet somewhere between 8:50 PM and 9:05 PM.