Preservation Fund

Community Investment Corporation (CIC) closed on its new At-Risk Buildings Fund in September and Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC/Chicago) and the Interagency Council are coordinating the creation of a new loan fund.

A consortium of lenders, led by Park National Bank, will provide CIC with up to $23 million to acquire at-risk properties and/or mortgages on those properties. CIC will stabilize the properties and resell them to interested owners that will keep the buildings affordable.

The new loan fund developed by LISC/Chicago and the Interagency Council will rehabilitate government-subsidized rental properties and provide bridge financing for acquisition and predevelopment costs. Guidelines for accessing the fund will be available in late 2007/early 2008.

LISC is also the fiscal agent for the Property Stabilization Fund (PSF) that will provide limited, one-time grants to stabilize government-subsidized rental properties. Potential grantees will be required to outline a stabilization plan that includes financial participation from each of the property owners and funders. This plan will be reviewed by the PSF Governing Board, which will include city, state and local lenders.

Interagency Council

The Interagency Council is meeting with Keystone leaders, elected officials, landlords and funders on issues ranging from troubled buildings to tax credits.

Data Clearinghouse

Led by new Director Marc Smith, the Data Clearinghouse is ramping up its research.

The Clearinghouse's current focus is on mapping subsidized housing in the Chicago area and determining which of those properties are in danger of being lost. Data is being collected from a wide variety of partners including HUD, IHDA, Chicago Rehab Network, Chicago's Department of Housing, the Assessor's Office and UIC.

The Data Clearinghouse, based at the Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University's Real Estate Center, will also be looking at additional affordable housing in Cook County that does not benefit from government subsidies but still remains affordable. Two new staff members will soon join Smith's team to assist with the research.

Energy Savers Program

Calls have already begun to pour in from building owners seeking to save money on their utility bills.

The Energy Savers Program, led by the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) and Community Investment Corporation (CIC), is still in its pilot phase as it works to acquire more funding. More than 350 energy audits have already been completed through this program

Rental Housing Alliance

The Alliance has been working to identify affordable housing in Chicago's neighborhoods and to determine if any of those buildings are in danger of being lost.

Recently, the Alliance, led by the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law and Chicago Rehab Network, has been working with tenants and S.T.O.P., a local community organizing group at Grove Parc, a 504-unit subsidized building in Woodlawn. All of the building's units are project-based Section 8 units. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is considering foreclosing on the property due to the need for extensive repairs.

The Alliance, Grove Parc tenants, and S.T.O.P. have identified a new owner, Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH) to preserve the Section 8 units and substantially revitalize Grove Parc. The Shriver Center will pursue litigation, if necessary, to preserve the Section 8 contract.

The Alliance has published two preservation newsletters and a four-day training for preservation organizing has just been completed. A full-day compliance training for owners and managers was held in October.

Lower Property Taxes

Cook County Assessor Jim Houlihan is continuing to review his office's policies and initiatives.

The goal is to ensure that property tax policy preserves existing affordable housing and that measures are being taken to increase the availability of affordable housing.

The Assessor's Office is currently reviewing the Class 9 incentive to determine ways in which it can become more accessible to more owners and providers of multi-family rental affordable housing. The Assessor's Office recently sponsored an amendment to the Cook County Classification Ordinance, which expanded the Class S incentive to include non-profit providers of Section 8 housing.

The Initiative also recently completed a survey of major assessment jurisdictions in the United States to collect a database of best assessment practices for the affordable housing community and to propose policies on how assessors nation-wide should value affordable housing.

Keystone Partners Committee

The Keystone Partners Committee is developing marketing materials and methods for tracking the work of the Compact.

Convened by ULI Chicago, the Keystone Partners Committee is made up of representatives from each of the Preservation Compact's key initiatives. The Keystone Partners Committee is accountable for the implementation of the Rental Housing Action Plan.