The City of Evanston will be applying for a $39.4 million housing grant to stabilize Evanston neighborhoods that have been hit hard by foreclosures in accordance with a measure passed by the Evanston City Council Monday evening.
“It’s got to be the largest grant the City of Evanston ever applied for,” said Ald. Ann Rainey (8th).
Evanston will enter a national competition with other states, local governments and non-profit organizations for a share of the $1.93 billion that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has set aside to stabilize communities affected most by foreclosures.
The money comes from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was signed into law on Feb. 17.
As part of the application process, the city is collaborating with Brinshore Development, LLC, a real estate company that has developed over 4,000 units of mixed-income housing in the Midwest in the past 15 years. David Brint, CEO of Brinshore, said Evanston presented “the perfect project” for the NSP2 program.
“You have two neighborhoods in Evanston that were pretty stable working-class communities that saw enormous amounts of foreclosures,” Brint said. “That threatens to undermine a lot of working families that have owned homes for a long time because their property values start to drop.”
Brinshore’s expertise with rehabilitation and working with government programs will be an asset for Evanston’s grant proposal, said Dennis Marino, director of community development.
“Certainly with the participation of David’s firm, we think we have a much better than average chance in terms of securing these funds nationally,” Marino said.
In order to qualify for the grant, the applicant must request at least $5 million. The funds would be used to purchase and redevelop 100 units of foreclosed housing and to build 97 new units of housing.
“I think Evanston’s presenting a strong application,” Brint said. “They meet all the criteria. They put together a strong team. I think it’s a well-written proposal, so I think we have as good an opportunity as anyone.”
Although the building would only occur in two census tracts located in primarily the 5th Ward and 8th Ward, all of Evanston would reap the benefits of the rehabilitated communities, Ald. Lionel Jean-Baptiste (2nd) said.
“When certain neighborhoods are weakened by foreclosures and loss of value, it impacts the surrounding community,” he said. “The more desolate an area becomes, the more folks are not interested in gravitating to that area, so you always want a vibrant, healthy community.”
Residents shy away from living in these deteriorating communities because parents are often worried about the safety of a neighborhood with several vacant, boarded homes, Brint said.
Brint also said rebuilding these areas would help Evanston financially.
“If the city doesn’t address this, they’re also responsible for keeping those homes boarded and safe, so there’s an enormous budgetary constraint,” he said. “And (foreclosed homes) are not part of the tax base, so the city gets hit both ways.”
The city will find out in December if it has received the grant.
