At its 19th annual Good Neighbor Awards event last week, the Chicago Association of Realtors (CAR) recognized several real-estate agents and developers who have turned around distressed properties in neighborhoods from Lake View to West Pullman. “These are private individuals and enterprises taking it on themselves to rehabilitate these homes,” said Mabel Guzman, CAR’s president and an executive at Envision Real Estate. “It’s revitalization going on outside the government’s efforts.”

In many cases, the new owner found value in the building’s depressed price—so that even with the cost of renovation, the property would be financially viable. “Somebody has given the property the love and care it needed, but made sure they could make a modest profit,” said Hasani Steele, an @Properties agent involved with two of the award-winning projects. “You’re not trying to win the lottery off every development—do a quick flip and make a hundred grand. You want to do something that’s sustainable for the new [residents] and the neighborhood.”

Click through the photo tour below to learn about nine residential projects that earned Good Neighbor Awards. (All photos are courtesy of the Chicago Association of Realtors.)