A patch of city-owned vacant lots on Peoria's South Side are on their way to become the latest affordable housing development in the area.
Plans for the $14 million Churchview Garden Homes project have been in the works for some time. They feature a total of 47 units in seven buildings across 2.5 acres near St. Ann's Catholic Church and the OSF Garden Of Hope.
The development is a collaboration between Pivotal Housing Partners and the Peoria Opportunities Foundation. Jane Genzel, the foundation’s executive director, said the project marks another step in addressing Peoria’s affordable housing needs.
“Forty-seven units is the tip of the iceberg. We just finished 30 units in the East Bluff neighborhood a couple years ago, and it (Churchview) is significant,” said Genzel. “But there's other work that needs to be done, in terms of renovating what is already there (and) finding the funding to do that. There's a long list of work to be done to increase the amount of affordable housing in our community.”
The Peoria City Council last week approved the project, awarding a $1.25 million grant through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOME Investment Partnership Program. Mayor Rita Ali called the move a “win-win” as part of a push to repopulate the 61605 neighborhood.
“We had over 5,000 people leave the First District, primarily from the South Side to move to other areas of the city over the past 10 years,” said Ali. “We need to bring back quality housing to the South Side of Peoria because there are people that want to stay, there's people that want to return. And the reason that they're leaving, in my opinion, is because there's not sufficient quality, affordable housing there.”
The 47 units would be made up of 15 one-bedroom, eight two-bedroom, and 24 three-bedroom residences in five townhomes and two two-story walk-ups around the 900 blocks of S. Shelley and S. Sumner. Genzel said there will also be an office area and some amenities.
Genzel added said the only qualification for tenants is that their household income cannot exceed 60% of the area’s median income. She said for most units, that amounts to $54,000 annually – although there are several units where that figure is $27,000.
In addition to the initial grant, the City Council approved the accompanying redevelopment agreement that provides $492,000 one-time reimbursement of South Village TIF funds up front to move the project forward.
“The majority of the funding comes from tax credits through (the) Illinois Housing Development Authority,” she said. “They also provide some other funding to fill the gaps. But these projects do not happen without additional funding from the city.”
Genzel said Pivotal will be receiving the IHDA tax credits since Peoria Opportunities, as a nonprofit organization, doesn’t qualify for them.
“When you're talking about developing affordable housing with tax credits, there is a long-term commitment to keeping (the units) affordable,” she said. And also, because you have an investor that is going to be taking the tax credits for the next 10 years after it opens, they have a very big stake in making sure that it is maintained. Pivotal, they are also in it for the long haul that to maintain the property as a quality property.”
Both Genzel and Ali said the location of the development has plenty to offer.
“There are already a lot of pluses in that particular area. The church is there, the OSF Hope Garden is there. The library is just within walking distance,” said Genzel. “The hope is that additional development happens in that area, but right now there are no plans yet.”
The city projects $8.3 million of the construction costs will be TIF-eligible expenses, with the development expected to generate approximately $600,000 in tax increment over the life of the TIF through 2035.
The project page on the Peoria Opportunities website says construction of Churchview Garden Homes is targeted for this summer.
