Workforce housing development moving forward in McHenry

Jack Victor of Northpointe Development says affordable housing should not be seen as undesirable in a community, as it’s community residents who need it.

His company, along with the Housing Opportunity Development Corporation, have been working with officials from McHenry, McHenry County, U.S. Rep. Bill Foster’s office and other agencies, to bring a 50-unit workforce housing development to McHenry.

Northpointe closed on the Taylor Place townhome property at 4105 W. Crystal Lake Road in McHenry, on July 18.

A second groundbreaking event – the first was held April 1 – recognized that closing and further contributions to the project.

“Through combined efforts, Taylor Place has received approximately $24 million in state, county and local aid, including a city discount of $158,932 on impact fees,” McHenry Mayor Wayne Jett said.

The Illinois Housing Development Authority was also on hand for the July 30 event.

McHenry County Board President Mike Buehler thanked Foster’s office for its work bringing a $1.25 million federal grant to the project, in addition to the American Rescue Plan Act funds the county board provided for the project.

Workforce housing has been a concern for the county board, Buehler added. The board heard a presentation from its workforce housing workgroup earlier in July outlining the need locally.

Rents will likely run from $500 to $1,500 a month depending on income and family size, Victor said.

“This is housing for people making a range of incomes,” he said.

Already, 30 people have applied for the 50 one-, two- and three-bedroom townhome units, said Rose Russo, assistant managing director for the property.

“This is housing for people making a range of incomes.”

—  Jack Victor, Northpointe Development

As workforce housing, eligible applicants can earn between 30% to 80% of the area’s median income. As an example, Russo said, a family of four could earn around $75,000 a year and be eligible for one of the three-bedroom units, paying $1,500 a month in rent.

A single person renting a one-bedroom could make up to $65,000 a year and pay $1,200 a month, she said.

According to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning’s 2022 Community Data Snapshot, McHenry County’s median household income is $90,014.

“It is a wide range of households that apply” for the units, Victor said.

Jim Thorpe, from Wintrust Bank, one of the finance partners on the project, said bank employees would be included in those eligible for the units.

“Not everyone at the bank is at the top of the pay scale,” he said, including tellers and personal bankers. “We need this type of housing, to help get women and children out of homelessness.”

With the property now in hand, “the shot clock has started” on construction, Victor said. The developer has 427 days from closure to finish the project.

Demolition is set to begin shortly, but portions of the property are being reused.

The development is named Taylor Place as it was the TaylorMade Golf offices previously. Originally, the brick building was the McHenry Mills & Champion Brick Yard, built in 1870 by A.H. Hanly. Hanly settled in McHenry in 1836, according to the McHenry Landmark Commission.

That structure is being renovated into community space for the townhome-style development, Victor said.