New affordable housing development opens in Palatine
A new $30 million affordable housing development in Palatine opened its doors to the public this week.
The Greenhaven Apartments and Townhomes, 303 Johnson St., consists of a three-story, 58-unit apartment building and four townhouses.
Development partners, including Northpointe Development, Lutheran Social Services of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan Inc. and the Housing Opportunity Development Corp., attended a grand opening Tuesday.
Also on hand were financial partners, among them the Illinois Housing Development Authority, Cook County, BMO and ComEd.
Cook County furnished approximately $2 million in HOME federal funding and is working on providing a discount in the assessed value. BMO provided debt and equity through low-income housing tax credits.
The development is intended for people who work in the area but can’t afford the region’s housing options.
Richard Koenig, executive director of the Housing Opportunity Development Corp., said more than 40 families are already there.
One tenant, Laquette Stoudemire, said she and her disabled husband were priced out of their former apartment after it underwent renovations.
The former nursing assistant said she feels like she won the lottery.
“When I saw the apartment, it was so beautiful,” she said. “You wouldn’t know this feeling, unless you were in the situation I was in with housing.”
Her two-bedroom, two-bathroom unit is a vast improvement and has handles to assist her husband with mobility issues, she said.
“He was always scared to take showers, because he was afraid that he was going to fall,” she said. “This is like heaven for him.”
Units are available to individuals and families with a wide range of income levels, ranging from 30% to 80% of area median income. The lowest rents range from $471 per month for a one-bedroom apartment to $1,176 for a three-bedroom.
All units offer an in-unit washer/dryer, patios or balconies, central air conditioning, window treatments and cable TV with computer internet hookups. Amenities include a community room, an outdoor play area and a fitness center.
ComEd supported the project with more than $200,000 worth of incentives to help make the project sustainable and efficient. The building has high-efficiency furnaces, central water heating and Energy Star-certified appliances.
Philip Roy, ComEd director of external affairs, said the savings amount to about 160,000 kilowatt-hours of energy annually.
“That's enough energy to power almost 20 average ComEd homes,” he said.