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Leaders unite to preserve Chicago's affordable rental housing |
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Contributed by Jim Elliott
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Sunday, 10 June 2007 |
Affordable housing, especially in the Chicago region, is very difficult to acquire -- and this is becoming a threat to the economic future of the region. On May 31, 2007, leaders in government, non-profit and the business sectors unveiled a program to reverse these dramatic losses in the affordable rental housing market.
The program is the nation's most comprehensive approach to a problem that challenges communities everywhere---turning around the significant loss of rental housing that is affordable to moderate and low-wage workers. A series of initiatives to save at least 75,000 existing homes in Cook County by the year 2020 is planned.
At the centre of the initiative is the Preservation Fund, an umbrella of financial products. This fund will provide acquisition and bridging funding to non-profit and for-profit developers, making it possible for them to obtain as much as $500,000 to support the long-term preservation of rental housing in Cook County. The Center for Neighborhood Technology is partnering with other organizations to help reduce operating costs in multifamily rental properties. They have created Cook County Energy Savers, a one-stop energy efficiency program that will provide technical assistance and loans for energy-efficiency improvements.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 12 June 2007 )
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