Cook County Board President Tours Evanston
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle toured part of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 (NSP2) target area in west Evanston on Thursday, January 26. Along with President Preckwinkle, Commissioner Larry Suffredin, Evanston Mayor Elizabeth B. Tisdahl and Evanston Aldermen Delores Holmes and Peter Braithwaite visited three NSP2 sites (see slide show below).
The first site, located across the street from the Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center, will be the first phase of Emerson Square, a new 60+ unit development to be built on an underutilized and blighted industrial site. When completed, Emerson Square will connect neighborhoods north of Foster and south of Emerson Streets and unite neighborhoods with a new street and public park.
The second site on the tour, 1836 Brown Ave., is a rental two-flat; each unit has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Rehabilitation is complete and both units will be available for rent soon.
The final site on the tour, 1828 Grey St., is a one bedroom house that is being rehabbed to be fully accessible to individuals with disabilities. It is in the final stages of renovation and is expected to be leased in February.
NSP2, funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), was designed to help stabilize neighborhoods that have been hardest hit by the effects of foreclosed and abandoned properties. The City of Evanston was awarded $18.15 million to stabilize portions of west (census tract 8092) and south (census tract 8102) Evanston, as well as generate economic opportunities for local residents and businesses.
Evanston's NSP2 effort employs two strategies. First, the city will purchase and rehabilitate 100 foreclosed and vacant housing units throughout the target geography. The rehabbed units will be sold or rented to income-eligible households. Second, we will begin implementing the West Evanston Master Plan by purchasing and redeveloping vacant and blighted industrial property in west Evanston for the first phase of Emerson Square, a 60+-unit mixed-income community offering apartments, townhomes, flats and single family homes for rent and ownership.
To date, approximately 79 foreclosed housing units have been acquired or are under site control. One unit has been sold and two rented; an additional 15 rehabbed units are, or will be, on the market for sale or rent by the end of the month. Lead hazard abatement and rehabilitation work is under way on an additional 22 units. The development team expects to break ground on Emerson Square by summer, having secured a reservation of Low Income Housing Tax Credits from the Illinois Housing Development Authority.
Learn more about Evanston's NSP2 program at www.cityofevanston.org/nsp2 or www.liveevanston.net.