Joliet gets $624K from Riverwalk Homes rents

Riverwalk Homes generated more than $600,000 in revenue for Joliet after its full year under city control.

Nearly all of the money is considered a loan payment from the $11 million the city spent to buy the former Evergreen Terrace apartment complex. A $624,000 payment to the city was made in June and reported in a Riverwalk Homes audit recently delivered to the city.

Joliet and its management partner, Holsten, took over Evergreen Terrace in late September 2017. The $624,000 comes from net revenue for the city during the final three months of 2017 and all of 2018.

Total net revenue was about $649,000, said Ken Mihelich, the city’s liaison to Riverwalk Homes.

According to the ownership agreement with Holsten, 80% of the net revenue from the apartment complex goes to pay back the city for the $11 million spent to buy Evergreen Terrace, which is considered a loan to the project, Mihelich said. Remaining net revenue is split between the city and Holsten. Joliet received $599,126 for the loan payment and another $24,891 from Riverwalk Homes, Mihelich said. Holsten received $24,891.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development subsidizes rents paid by residents in the 356-unit complex.

“Basically, HUD is paying most of the rent,” Mihelich said. “The tenants pay a small portion of it.”

Joliet has plans to reduce the number of apartments at Riverwalk Homes to 177 to lower the density of the housing complex. No timetable has been set.