Oak Park’s Village Board approved a deal to spend $1 million to help bring a long-discussed affordable housing development on Madison Street closer to being a reality.
The village board voted unanimously to approve paying $1 million from its Affordable Housing Fund to secure the transfer of 1106 Madison St. from the Fellowship Christian Church to the Interfaith Housing Development Corporation. In July 2024, the village board had agreed to help support the organization developing a 36-unit affordable housing property called “Keystone Apartments” on the land, but the developer struggled to raise the grant funding to acquire the parcel from the church, according to Perry Vietti, the nonprofit housing organization’s president.
“At a certain point as a small nonprofit organization that does this kind of work we can only put up so much money so I think that’s also been part of the challenge,” Vietti said.
If the nonprofit’s development is unsuccessful, the village will take over ownership of the property.
Vietti said that his organization approached the village about the change in strategy in the fall, as the developer had not been approved in past rounds of grant funding that it had hoped to use to buy the land from the church. With the village committed to support the land transfer, Vietti said the organization will be better positioned to receive the Illinois Affordable Housing Tax Credits he said will pay for 65% of development costs for the project.
“It takes the potential of losing the property as we’re applying for the funding out of the equation,” he said. “So it just sort of locks that down. We’re all hopeful that we’ll get funded this year. You know, we’ve applied a couple times before, but I’m hoping this is the charm this time.”
“It helps us get funded if we have local resources coming in as well. It shows that you have local support and that the primary funder is not paying for everything.”
While the village payment will secure the nonprofit’s ownership of the property, it actually decreases Oak Park’s overall investment commitment in the property. In 2024, the village had pledged $1.2 million in Affordable Housing Fund support for the development.
“We’re saving in the interim,” said Village President Vicki Scaman. “By us purchasing the property for the developer we’re improving their chances of receiving the grant.”
“They’re able to gain access to more money and we’re contributing less than what we’d previously committed.”
The deadline to apply for the tax credits is at the end of February, Vietti said.
Keystone Apartments, as a permanent supportive housing location, will serve residents earning 30% or less of the area median income, which is $25,200 a year for a single person household in Chicagoland, according to the City of Chicago.
The property will also include dedicated space for Housing Forward to provide social support services to the residents.
Interfaith Housing also developed Grove Apartments, affordable housing located above the Sugar Beet Food Co-Op at 812 Madison St. in Oak Park.
Vietti thanked the Oak Park board for its trust in his organization and its commitment to supporting new affordable housing in the village.
“It’s not just saying they support the project, but they’re willing to help us take out one of the challenges that we’ve had in locking down this property,” Vietti said. “The village is saying that affordable housing, specifically permanent supportive housing, housing blended with services for formerly homeless people, is a priority. They’re willing to put money forward and, in a sense, take a risk with us and set this property aside.”
