South Elgin could see first housing development in years

The South Elgin village board gave an early thumbs this week to a developer interested in building affordable housing downtown.

The Burton Foundation, a Sterling, Ill., based philanthropic organization, has rental properties across the country but most recently teamed up with the Association for Individual Development for the project.

Half of the 50 units are planned for AID clients, including those with disabilities, mental illness and special needs, with half for the wider, income-eligible community.

Kathy Hazelwood, vice president of marketing and development for AID, said the social service agency owns 32 properties, some of which are group homes or mental health housing facilities. The planned development would have an AID staff person on site to assist the clients who live on their own.

Hazelwood said most of the AID homes are in the southern end of Kane County and the agency wanted to serve the northern end more effectively. About 1,400 people are currently on waiting lists for housing.

“We are in desperate need of trying to find housing for our clientele,” Hazelwood said.

AID connected with The Burton Foundation about a year ago. Tracey Manning, executive director of the foundation, pitched the project Monday to the South Elgin village board. If the rest of the planning and permitting goes as planned, Water’s Edge of South Elgin will be a 3-story building along the Fox River completed by the end of 2013. Center Street would have to be extended north toward the Fox River Trail Bike Path for the project.

The Burton Foundation has about a dozen developments for seniors and families looking for affordable rentals nationwide. Manning said the foundation noticed a definite need in Illinois for such staff-supported housing with declining state funding for more institutional options.

“This is really the way the state is having to move,” Manning said. “There is a need for the housing and we’re providing it.”

Steve Super, director of community development for South Elgin, said this will be the first new housing development in the village in a few years. The village’s master plan calls for housing in the space Water’s Edge would be built — a currently vacant industrial area.

The project could qualify for Illinois Housing Development Authority grants. Manning estimated the entire development will cost about $14 million.

While the village board did not give any official approval of plans Monday, it did indicate its support for The Burton Foundation’s concept. The proposal will have to go through the planning commission and back before the board for preliminary approval, which could come as early as this summer.