Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle joined City of Harvey Mayor Christopher J. Clark and residents to celebrate the preservation and rehab of senior housing as a first step in the city’s redevelopment plans.
The event took place at the South Suburban Senior Housing Apartments, a 120-unit, affordable housing development which is one of three Harvey properties Preservation of Affordable Housing Inc. (POAH) purchased from the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago, and is now undergoing a $15 million major renovation. The project is expected to be completed in Winter 2023.
Mayor Clark talked about POAH’s investment as indicative of a new era for Harvey: “We are delighted to have POAH in Harvey. We share the relief of the seniors who see POAH’s investment as protection for their future. We also see POAH’s investment as an affirmation of our faith in the future – the first of a number of anticipated investments that are part of our new master plan for Harvey.”
Mayor Clark was referring to POAH’s $30 million-plus investment in its South Suburban Senior Housing property and two other buildings in Harvey that POAH purchased in 2019.
While POAH is investing in affordable housing, city leaders are working with other community partners on a new-construction transit-oriented apartment development that will be built next to City Hall, a downtown Pace and Metra station, and new infill housing, while also building a revived industrial future on Harvey’s legacy in collaboration with Cook County and the Southland Development Authority with the Metals Hub, a collaborative network of metals machinery and equipment manufacturers committed to developing new business opportunities in the Harvey area.
Cook County most recently invested nearly $1 million in infrastructure critical to the life safety of Harvey residents and $1.5 million into POAH’s revitalization of the South Suburban Senior Housing Apartments at 178 East 155th Street, ensuring stability and long-term affordability.
POAH Midwest SVP Bill Eager explained the nonprofit affordable housing developer recently began rehabbing the residential portion of the multi-faceted complex, including all the apartments, interior spaces, and grounds but due to the pandemic it had been virtually impossible for everyone to convene prior to today.
POAH acquired the apartment complex as part of a six-building senior portfolio from the YMCA that includes two other affordable housing properties in Harvey. Financial assistance for the property’s $15 million renovation (the financing for the renovation closed in March 2022) is provided by Cook County, the Illinois Housing Development Authority, and CREA as tax credit investor and R4 as senior lender. The renovation to the South Suburban Senior Housing includes: upgrades to the apartments’ kitchens and baths; new sustainable electric heating and cooling systems; new copper plumbing fixtures; cosmetic improvements to corridors and commons spaces; greater handicap accessibility of common spaces; and an upgraded security system.
Also attending the event were HUD Regional Administrator Diane M. Shelley, Cook County Commissioner Deborah Sims, POAH CEO Aaron Gornstein, and residents of the South Suburban Senior Apartments.
