In what is being hailed as a major victory for affordable housing advocates, the Illinois Housing Development Authority on Friday approved a measure to help pay for construction of a mixed-income housing complex in Jefferson Park.
The decision dedicates $1.5 million in tax credits toward construction on a 75-unit building at 5150 N. Northwest Highway where the preference for renting the apartments will go to veterans and residents with disabilities. Fifteen of the apartments will be set aside for lower-income residents with housing-voucher subsidies.
“Right now we are celebrating getting this win for the folks who were long dismissed,” said Ald. John Arena, 45th, who lost his re-election bid earlier this year, in part, because he so strongly backed the controversial project. “There was a lot of misinformation and negative attention surrounding this project which will be disproved.”
For more than two years, a coalition of housing advocates, residents and elected officials had been lobbying for the project in Jefferson Park. Unlike many new developments, where the affordable units are studios or small one-bedroom apartments, this building will have dozens of three-bedroom apartments to accommodate families.
But from the beginning, the proposed project became controversial as many residents in the bungalow belt neighborhood opposed the development. Conversations about the project became heated, laced with what supporters said were racist and classist inferences. There also were public protests about the development at City Council meetings and housing agency meetings.
Those who pushed for the building wanted it located in the North Side community because it’s close to ample public transportation options, it’s near thousands of job opportunities and the neighborhood is flush with amenities such as grocery stores, public library branches, parks and recreation centers.
In the past, opponents of the development said they didn’t want it because of traffic congestion and because the new influx of residents could cause overcrowding at the local schools.
But Arena and backers of the project said much of the opposition was rooted in stereotypes, which was revealed in online forums and social media posts.
On Friday, at the brief hearing, only Arena and two other residents testified about the project and all of them spoke in favor of it.
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Longtime Jefferson Park resident Monica Dillon said she didn’t expect to find herself steeped in a battle for affordable housing. She owns a single-family home and has lived in her community for more than 31 years.
But when her daughter began searching for an apartment in the neighborhood, she couldn’t find anything she could afford. That’s when she began to see the need.
“At the end of the day, this project is about giving people a place to call home,” Dillon told the board.
The board passed the measure with no discussion. The seven-story complex will be developed by Full Circle Communities.
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“We had a riot here last year over this very project,” said King Harris, the board chair, after the vote. “Our new mayor-to-be has said it’s time that we all pull together. This decision is a step in that direction.”
After the board approved the project, Michael Grice, a housing advocate with Access Living, said it was an important first step. But he emphasized that while this complex will offer much-needed apartments, it won’t solve the ongoing problem.
“We get probably a thousand calls a month related to housing,” said Grice, who uses an electric wheelchair to get around. “I just transitioned out of a nursing home. It took me 20 years, 20 years to find accessible, affordable housing.
“Ald. Arena’s project is just going to scratch the surface,” Grice said. “There is a long way to go. We have to be at the table when decisions are being made.
“Nothing about us, without us.”
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