Showdown looms for Arlington Hts. supportive housing plan

As advocates of supportive housing for the disabled and mentally ill celebrate the groundbreaking this morning of a new apartment building to serve their needs in Mount Prospect, others are making plans to appear before the Arlington Heights Village Board tonight to make their case for a similar, but far more controversial, proposal on the community’s north side.

Members of the Good Neighbors Campaign, mostly Northwest suburban religious and social service leaders, are expected to present petitions containing hundreds of signatures tonight urging Arlington Heights leaders to settle their long-running legal fight over the proposed Boeger Place apartments.

Supporters of the project, a proposed 30-unit building at 120-122 E. Boeger for people who have mental illness but are capable of living independently, say it would provide much-needed housing for an underserved portion of the suburban population.

Village trustees in 2010 refused to grant the developers necessary zoning variances. Later that year, developers filed a federal discrimination suit against the village, a claim the village denies.

The Good Neighbors Campaign now is asking village leaders to settle the lawsuit and work with Boeger Place developers to make the proposal a reality.

In the meantime, community leaders, project partners and residents gathered this morning for the groundbreaking of Myers Place, a $13.2 million mixed-use supportive housing project at the corner of Dempster Avenue and Busse Road in Mount Prospect.

The building will include 21 one-bedroom and 18 studio apartments, a state-funded supportive services program for residents and 3,560 square feet of commercial space. Among its developers is Daveri Development Group, LLC, which also is involved with Boeger Place.

Kenneth Young Center, an Elk Grove Village-based social services agency, will provide on-site case management, counseling and coordination with health care providers.