Federal funds to support affordable housing development in Glen Ellyn
Glen Ellyn will receive $750,000 in federal money to help pave the way for an affordable housing development near Roosevelt Road and Park Boulevard.
Chicago-based nonprofit Full Circle Communities is seeking to build an apartment complex with up to 42 units. The developer would set aside no less than 30% of the units as permanent supportive housing for people with disabilities under the terms of an agreement to purchase a portion of the village-owned property.
U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez requested federal dollars for demolition and site remediation work to make room for the proposed affordable housing project. Ramirez, whose 3rd Congressional District runs from Chicago’s Northwest Side into DuPage County, announced the funding at a news conference with Glen Ellyn Village President Mark Senak and other elected officials last week.
Affordable housing allows “senior members of our communities to stay close to their families so that grandparents can see their grandchildren,” Senak said, echoing remarks he made at a village board meeting last month.
“It gives adults with developmental disabilities the opportunity to remain in the community where they went to school, where they grew up, where their families live, where their friends live, and where many of them work,” Senak said.
The property is currently owned by the village and split by Exmoor Avenue. Glen Ellyn trustees in February agreed to sell the three parcels west of Exmoor to Full Circle Communities for $1.75 million. The village also has signed a letter of intent with a commercial developer offering $1.5 million for the parcels on the east side.
The village paid $2.85 million to take control of the deteriorating property — containing a cluster of hotel buildings — in January 2022.
In total, Ramirez, a first-term Democrat from Chicago’s Northwest Side, steered $14.1 million to her district through requests for community project funding, more commonly known as earmarks.
“These funds will guarantee that we are investing equitably in our district and improving the conditions that keep our community safe, healthy and thriving,” Ramirez said.
The local earmarks are part of a package of spending bills signed by President Joe Biden to avert a partial government shutdown.
Ramirez also secured $1 million for DuPage County to make intersection and pedestrian improvements at Roosevelt and Naperville roads in Wheaton. The Forest Preserve District of DuPage County will receive $300,000 to replace a bridge in Blackwell Forest Preserve near Warrenville.