Affordable senior community proposed on Peterson Road in Libertyville
A proposal for a long-vacant commercial building on Peterson Road in Libertyville calls for it to be replaced with an affordable senior residential community.
Eve B. Lee Place at 500 Peterson Road also would incorporate about 8,000 square feet of office space for Community Partners for Affordable Housing, a Libertyville-based nonprofit that works throughout the Chicago area.
The plan has been in the works about a year and is being reviewed by the village and the Illinois Housing Development Authority.
Replacing the existing building with a three-story residential community for people 55 and older represents an estimated $17 million investment.
According to the proposal, the project was designed specifically to meet the "needs, goals and visions" of the village's 2030 Comprehensive Plan.
Among them is a village aim to diversify housing options, particularly for empty nesters and early retirees. Another is to revitalize commercial corridors, including this stretch of Peterson Road, according to the proposal.
Affordable rent is especially acute for people aged 55 to 74, a segment that showed the greatest population growth from 2000 to 2016, according to the village's comprehensive plan.
The building at 500 Peterson Road has been empty for at least 10 years and possibly longer.
"We were looking for space in Libertyville," said Rob Anthony, president of Community Partners for Affordable Housing. "This is a site that literally has sat vacant with no public benefit."
The local group has applied to the state housing authority for tax credits, which would be the largest part of anticipated development costs. The tax credits are sold to provide capital for the project, Anthony said.
Lake County also recently appropriated $1.5 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds toward the project.
The project is named for Lee, an Antioch resident who grew up in Libertyville and chairs the nonprofit's board. Lee also is a founding board member of the Affordable Housing Corporation, one of three nonprofit housing agencies that merged three years ago under the CPAH umbrella.
"She has been a standout advocate for fair housing and affordable housing for 45 years," Anthony said. "Libertyville means a lot to her - it kind of brings her back to her roots."
As planned, the project would offer 28 one-bedroom and four two-bedroom apartments with monthly rents estimated at $997 to $1,195 including utilities - close to half the market rate in town, according to Anthony. Rents would remain affordable in perpetuity.
"There's not a lot of affordable housing in Libertyville," he said.
Eve B. Lee Place is planned to be of high quality and energy efficient. The building would have all electric systems. A solar array on the roof would provide power.
Other planned amenities include a shared community room, on-site laundry, fitness room, computer lab, covered drop-off/pickup area, outdoor patio, extensive green space, electric vehicle charging stations and a walking path for residents.
"We're concurrently working through the funding and the zoning and hope to have (approvals) in place in June or July at the latest," Anthony said.
According to the proposal, CPAH is the only comprehensive, full-service nonprofit housing organization in the northern suburbs.