October 11, 2024
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Joliet gets $500,000 grant for planning around River Walk Homes

Federal program funds planning around HUD housing

By Bob Okon
A welcome sign sits outside of Riverwalk Homes on Tuesday, July 13, 2021, in Joliet, Ill. Holsten Development, the company that manages Riverwalk Homes, will begin demolishing some of the buildings beginning in 2022, as part of a project to reduce the number of units on site from 356 to 177 by 2025

River Walk Homes is a government-supported housing project for low-income tenants at 350 N. Broadway St. in Joliet. (Geoff Stellfox/Geoff Stellfox - gstellfox@shawmedia.com)

The Joliet City Council will vote Tuesday whether to accept a $500,000 federal grant that would be used for planning neighborhood improvements in the area of the River Walk Homes development.

River Walk Homes, formerly named Evergreen Terrace, is a federally subsidized housing project for low-income tenants located at 350 N. Broadway St. The city took ownership of the apartments in 2017.

The grant would be used for the city and community to make plans for enhancements at River Walk Homes and the neighborhood around it, said Dustin Anderson, director of community development for the city

The grant opens the door for the city to apply for up to $50 million in federal funds for improvements once it develops a “transformative plan,” Anderson said.

Joliet renamed Evergreen Terrace as River Walk Homes after taking over the government-supported housing complex for low-income residents in 2017. (Eric Ginnard)

Just what that plan would look like depends in large part on input from people who live in the neighborhood, he said.

Joliet was one of 42 communities in the nation to apply for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Choice Neighborhoods Initiative grants, Anderson said. The grant for community planning was awarded to 13 municipalities, he said.

Tenants at River Walk Homes receive HUD subsidies for rent.

The Choice Neighborhoods Initiative supports communities where HUD-supported housing is located.

The Housing Authority of Joliet would join the city and community in a two-year planning process, according to a staff memo on the grant.

Although the grant has been awarded to Joliet, the City Council still must vote to accept the funding before the city can take part in the process.

Rendering of the proposed Riverwalk Homes redevelopment presented by Holsten Development at the Joliet City Council meeting on Tuesday Sept. 5, 2023.

A rendering from Holsten Development, the city's ownership partner at River Walk Homes, shows redevelopment plans for the housing complex. (Holsten Development)

Joliet applied for the grant while it already is making plans for changes at River Walk Homes.

The city in 2023 approved a $77 million redevelopment plan for River Walk Homes. The plan includes demolition that reduces the number of apartments from 356 to 177. Improvements will be made to the remaining units.

Joliet took ownership of the former Evergreen Terrace after a prolonged condemnation lawsuit against the previous private owners, who also operated the development as a HUD-supported housing complex. The city contended in its takeover that the private owners had neglected and mismanaged the housing complex.

The city owns the housing complex under a partnership agreement with Holsten Development, which manages the housing complex.

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