The Housing Authority of Cook County undertaking to exchange 4 townhomes at 504-14 South Blvd. with a 60-unit, 5-story affordable housing growth could quickly run into delays – all due to one tenant.
HACC is working with the Cleveland-based agency of PIRHL Developers to construct the South Boulevard Shores, which can have 30 one-bed room items, 12 two-bed room items and 18 three-bed room items. The new constructing will span the present townhomes site and the parking zone that Evanston bought to the housing authority last October. The unique plan was to relocate the present townhome tenants by May 23.
During the April 11 assembly of the HACC Board of Commissioners, which was held at housing authority’s workplaces in downtown Chicago, growth affiliate Tina Pourroy gave an replace on the present building tasks. With South Boulevard Shores, she defined, the demolition can’t occur till tenants are relocated.
Pourroy stated that whereas first two households are keen to maneuver, the third tenant is “extremely difficult.”
“I’m working with [HACC attorney Jon Duncan] to figure out what to do with her, because she may hold us up,” Pourroy added.
“So, what is her concern?” requested board chair Wendy Walker Williams. “She loves her house and doesn’t want to move?”
“She’s special,” responded Pourroy.
At this level, Duncan warned Pourroy to watch out about sharing probably delicate tenant data at a public assembly.
According to the undertaking timeline shared throughout the assembly, HACC deliberate to begin building this September and end by November 2025. The housing authority would open the ready lists forward of time, so tenants could transfer in by the beginning of 2026.
Pourroy instructed the board that she couldn’t converse to how the undertaking timeline may change as a result of she and Duncan have been nonetheless reviewing HACC’s authorized choices.
The RoundTable confirmed that one unit continues to be occupied, nevertheless it was unable to get a remark from the tenant by deadline. Cheryl Lawrence, the chief director of Open Communities affordable housing advocacy group, stated she spoke to the tenant in query and stated that she didn’t wish to transfer till she will get a assure that the brand new unit would have the identical facilities as her present one.
Affordable housing in Evanston
Evanston is house to 2 HACC-owned senior public housing developments. Emerson Square blended-earnings, privately owned growth accepts HACC tenants by means of the Project-Based Voucher program. In different phrases, tenants get vouchers which can be tied to this growth. The tenants pay a portion of the hire and HACC picks up the remainder. Evanston additionally has one among bigger variety of scattered-site housing within the north suburbs.
According to HACC information, as of February 2024, 544 Evanston households use its vouchers. Those vouchers can be utilized in any non-public rental unit that may settle for them.
The South Boulevard is smaller in scale than different HACC housing developments. Each townhome is 2 tales tall and has a fenced-off rear yard. The now-HACC-owned parking zone is situated on to the east.
The South Boulevard Shores undertaking will probably be much like Emerson Square, besides with no market-fee items. All items are supposed to be affordable to tenants incomes 80% of the Area Median Income. That quantity, which is adjusted yearly, relies on common earnings for the complete Chicagoland area moderately than Evanston particularly.
According to the HACC truth sheet, one-bed room items would lease for $1,417 a month, two-bed room items for $1,695 a month, and three-bed room items for $1,956 a month.
Eighteen of these items will probably be reserved for tenants with HACC-issued Project-Based Vouchers. Voucher-holders would solely have to pay the equal of 30% of their month-to-month earnings in direction of hire.
As beforehand reported by the RoundTable, PIRHL and HACC will search Golden Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, which acknowledges buildings’ environmental sustainability and power effectivity.
The truth sheet signifies that the undertaking will value a bit over $27.9 million, with the vast majority of the funding coming by means of a mixture of county and state monies and personal grants and loans.
Project timeline
During the April 11 assembly, HACC government director Danita Childers recalled that she bumped into an analogous scenario when she was working for the Chicago Housing Authority. She warned that the method could drag on for some time and power the housing authority to regulate the plan.
“They had one tenant who didn’t want to move, so they had to change the whole plan to [renovate] around his unit,” Childers stated. “Finally, they got him to move so they could get to his unit.”
Pourroy stated their aim was to maneuver the tenant to a unit that’s as near her present townhouse as doable.
“Ideally, we would move her to a very similar unit in Evanston with the same general area, the same amount of bathrooms and the same yard space, and she would be happy, but she won’t even look at it,” she stated.
Lawrence instructed the RoundTable that the present location had benefits the tenant didn’t wish to quit – the Purple Line ‘L’ entry and the Pace Route 213 inside strolling distance, and proximity to Lake Michigan.
“She’s got public transportation out there, and she’s got a lake out there, and she was like – she isn’t moving unless they find her [a unit] like that,” she stated.