Palatine joins support for housing collaborative to deal with foreclosures

The village of Palatine has gotten on board with several neighbors in lending its support to a new coalition that addresses the multifamily housing market foreclosure crisis.

Officials Monday unanimously approved a letter of support for the creation of the Northwest Housing Collaborative and pursuit of a $120,000 grant from the Chicago Community trust.

The collaborative effort, which would be led by the Metropolitan Mayor’s Caucus and the Metropolitan Planning Council, already includes Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Mount Prospect and Rolling Meadows.

“Our municipalities have been working together for over five years on shared housing issues, including joint outreach to employers, developers, and rental property owners,” Mayor Jim Schwantz wrote to Chicago Community Trust. “The funding requested in this proposal is critical to advancing our inter-jurisdictional collaboration.”

Similar collaborative efforts have been created in Southwest and West suburban Cook County with measurable success, Palatine officials said.

Should it receive funding, the Northwest Housing Collaborative would provide education and resources to owners and homeowners associations in multifamily properties, and also help them find grant assistance to make property improvements, improve energy efficiency and maintain the rental housing stock.

Palatine officials say the collaborative is important because the negative impacts of a foreclosed property can include financial strains on homeowners associations with fewer units paying monthly dues, a lack of property maintenance and a potential increase in blight.

Palatine Village Manager Reid Ottesen said the village recognizes an increasing level of foreclosures taking place, and this new effort comes at no financial cost to Palatine.

The collaborative also would help the village keep better track of properties that are in or near foreclosure.