Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2

Evanston’s NSP application focused on the acquisition and rehabilitation of units in two target areas in south and west Evanston. Though both areas were hit hard by foreclosure, there are significant differences between the two. The southern area is comprised of a significant amount of multifamily housing and condo conversions, where the western area is far less dense, though it has a sizable amount of rental housing and is historically plagued by predatory lending. The City was intentional about limiting the program to these two particularly impacted areas so as to maximize impact in areas of the most need.

The goal of the City’s use of the funds was to acquire and rehab 100 units of housing—half to be renter-occupied and half to be owner-occupied. With Brinshore Development as the program’s master developer, the City worked alongside to help develop and execute a strategy of property acquisition and rehab. Emerson Square– a development that transformed a blighted industrial parcel into a 32-unit mixed-income residential community located near other units acquired with NSP funds– was a core aspect of the City’s goal to concentrate NSP resources. NSP funds were used for property acquisition and environmental remediation work, while Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, HOME funds, and other sources funded the remainder of the development.

Beyond Emerson Square, the City also leveraged additional funding sources and partnerships to increase the general impact of its NSP strategy. The National Community Stabilization Trust, which worked with NSP grantees to combat speculation of real estate owned properties, helped the City to acquire properties that were being marketed through its programs. In one two-block section, five properties were acquired. In the west Evanston target area, the City used Community Development Block Grant funds to perform road resurfacing, sidewalk replacement, and tree planting projects near NSP properties. Evanston also layered HOME funds in the acquisition and rehab of several rental units. Leveraging these additional investments proved critical to the successful implementation of the NSP program.

To date, all units acquired, rehabbed, and developed with NSP funds are occupied. Five properties that were in such deteriorated condition as to be unsalvageable were demolished with the goal of being redeveloped as housing. Three of those lots have since been redeveloped as single-family homes through Geometry in Construction, a partnership with Evanston Township High School where student-built homes are sold to income-eligible households by Community Partners for Affordable Housing (CPAH) and entered into its land trust to remain affordable in perpetuity. The fourth and fifth lots are a part of a double lot that has been subdivided. On one lot, a single-family house is currently being constructed, while the second lot will be the site of the first duplex developed by the Evanston Township High School Geometry in Construction program.