South Joins Forces For Stimulus Money

Demolishing 10 east side homes in Chicago Heights. Knocking down a fire-damaged home and rehabbing 20 rentals for a lease-to-purchase program in Richton Park. Renovating 10 homes in Matteson in a foreclosure-plagued subdivision.

These projects and nine others across the south suburbs top the wish list of Southland communities vying for $46 million in federal stimulus cash designed to stabilize neighborhoods. In all, a dozen communities gathered under the umbrella of the South Cook Housing Collaborative and requested $36 million to kick off residential housing projects throughout the south suburbs.

"It doesn't make sense for communities who are understaffed and budget-crunched to approach this process on their own," said Janice Morrissey, director of housing initiatives for the collaborative, which is an outgrowth of the South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association.

"A lot of towns felt there was not enough funding for one town to even make a dent, but by working together and targeting areas together, they can get more bang for the buck."

The state expects to notify communities whether they'll get the cash - and how much - by the third week in August, or about a month later than previously announced, said Karen Youngblood, policy associate for the state's Department of Human Services, which is charged with doling out the cash. The agency awaits the all-clear from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, she said.

"We do realize the construction season is really passing," Youngblood said.

Unique collaborative approach

The regionwide approach to transform blighted areas of the south suburbs, as well as solid partnerships with private and nonprofit organizations, impressed experts at the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit independent research institute in Washington, D.C.

The institution's Metropolitan Policy Program recently lauded the South Cook Housing Collaborative's pitch as one of the 11 most "innovative" plans submitted nationwide for federal stimulus money and considers it a model for metropolitan economic development.

"We're really hoping they get their funding," said Sarah Rahman, policy analyst at Brookings. "They put forth a unique, collaborative approach across towns and across sectors that marries a housing plan with transit-oriented development plans and ties into things like energy and water infrastructure."

South suburban communities in June put forth a wish list of housing projects they'd tackle if they had the cash and the resources. All projects also must meet federal requirements to include affordable housing.

Addressing the largely vacant and crime-ridden east side neighborhood - there are only 200 occupied homes in the 800-home subdivision - long has been on the agenda for leaders in Chicago Heights. The federal stimulus money set the stage for the city to hire Mecca Cos., a municipal housing consulting firm, to create the city's first-ever master plan for development.

"We really didn't have a full view or plan for economic development," said Joann Doggett, CDBG/housing director in Chicago Heights. "We didn't want to pass up an opportunity to receiving funding for this, and we definitely were going to demo these properties anyway. It's a question of having the plan and the funds to do so."

Overhaul long overdue

Demolishing the houses costs the city about $10,000 apiece, including the cost of legal fees and title research. The $250,000 in stimulus money Chicago Heights has requested would pay for demolishing 10 houses and planning redevelopment of the neighborhood.

Pat Ford's home on Central Avenue is surrounded by four of the 10 vacant and boarded-up homes slated for demolition. She says the planned neighborhood overhaul is long overdue.

"It's time to get 'em down," Ford said on recent afternoon. "This one's a drug house, this one used to be a drug house. I've seen people climbing under porches to get high. It scares me so bad. I have grandchildren who live in this neighborhood."