Hope from invigorated neighborhoods

The images are all too familiar in troubled times. Empty storefronts dominate the strip malls that were once symbols, if somewhat crassly so, of suburban economic vitality. Neighborhoods are dotted with boarded-up homes and lawns gone to seed.

But in separate news stories this past weekend, Daily Herald reporters described activities both public and private that are helping to keep such scenes from becoming the images that define the suburbs during this recession.

In Kane County, James Fuller told how government leaders are working with private investors to identify decaying foreclosed homes and rehab them into viable, marketable properties.

The process, largely enabled by a $2.6 million federal Neighborhood Stabilization grant, is helping to protect neighborhoods from the downward slide that can occur as unoccupied homes deteriorate and infect the value of nearby homes.

Fuller told how Kane County has begun the reconstruction process with the purchase of 13 homes where they’ve repaired sagging floors, refinished kitchens and replaced graffiti-stained rooms with freshly painted walls and modern lighting. Ultimately, the county expects to sell the homes at two to three times what it paid for them, then use the profit to provide seed money to rehab more properties.

Tom Roeser, whose engineering company is Carpentersville’s largest employee, has been conducting a similar process with homes in his company’s neighborhood, and he’s partnering with government in the process of redeveloping properties in Carpentersville. The result has produced a rare expression of praise for a government program from the outspoken conservative.

“These Neighborhood Stabilization grants are a terrific thing,” he told Fuller.

And the development surge isn’t limited to housing. On Monday, Anna Marie Kukec described how, with the help of an improving economy, suburbs are encouraging and seeing a renewal of local business. Despite the loss of Borders stores announced last week, Kukec noted the economic energy expected from the almost-simultaneously announced expansion of retailer HHGregg into Schaumburg, Niles and Vernon Hills.

Perhaps more important, she described how efforts in towns like Lake Zurich and Batavia are bearing fruit in the form of new businesses and declining vacancy rates.

Kane County Board member Hollie Lindgren described the “hope in our community” provided by the Neighborhood Stabilization work, and hope is indeed the watchword of our time.

Whether in housing or business, no one expects a sudden and dramatic rebound returning us to the heady days of the previous decade. But it’s encouraging to note that, in both areas, persistence and diligence are buttressing hope with positive action.