As Evanston awaits specific instructions on how to spend its $18 million affordable housing grant, the fate of a proposed 98-unit housing community in west Evanston remains uncertain.
At a conference in Washington, D.C. last week, two city officials learned new details about the funds from representatives of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. The HUD officials asked Evanston to prioritize the reopening and resale of 100 foreclosed properties in west and south Evanston, said Community Development Director Dennis Marino, who attended the conference.
Evanston’s original grant proposal also included building a 98-unit mixed income community adjacent to Gilbert Park, by the intersection of Emerson Street and Jackson Avenue in west Evanston. But because HUD approved less than half of the $40 million the city applied for, it is too early to tell whether the construction will proceed as proposed, Marino said.
“We’re not speculating on that one way or the other at this point,” Marino said.The city announced last month it was one of 56 cities nationwide awarded money from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2, an affordable housing initiative in last year’s stimulus package.
HUD will send the city a grant agreement letter as early as Friday, detailing more specific instructions on how to spend the $18 million. The city will then respond with a revised proposal.
In the meantime, Evanston’s elected officials are still celebrating the news it will be receiving the grant funds. On Friday, Mayor Elizabeth Tisdahl walked with Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) through one of the west Evanston neighborhoods the NSP2 funds will target.
“Whether you’re on the southwest side of Chicago, out in Kane County or right here in Evanston, foreclosures are growing in number,” Durbin told reporters. “Eighteen million dollars will be invested back in this community to make sure that this street changes for the better.”
Evanston will have three years to spend the $18 million, said Eric Palmer, Evanston’s community information coordinator.
“That means there’s going to be some real changes happening really quickly,” he said. “(But) there’s a lot of work to be done.”[email protected]
