Riverwalk Homes razing plans set

The redevelopment of Riverwalk Homes that includes demolition of half the apartments starts next year.

The 356 government-subsidized apartments at Riverwalk Homes along North Broadway Street will be reduced to 177 when the project is completed in 2025.

A senior development manager for the project earlier this month provided an update to the Joliet City Council, which approved approved the redevelopment plan in 2018.

The city jointly owns the apartment complex with Holsten Real Estate Development Corp., which manages the property.

Three apartment buildings will remain on the site when the project is completed, Nikkitta McCoy, senior development manager with Holsten told the council on July 5.

Councilwoman Jan Quillman questioned the selection of which buildings to save, noting they are some of the oldest on the site.

McCoy said the three buildings are being kept because of their size.

“Those buildings have more units in them,” McCoy told Quillman. “We are trying to maintain the buildings that have the most units because we have to make sure that the 177 (units) remain on site.”

The timetable for the project varies from what Holsten presented in 2019 when the company said the project would start in late 2021 and be completed in 18 months.

McCoy could not be reached this week for additional comments.

She told the council that residents who leave Riverwalk Homes would keep their Section 8 vouchers to be used for housing elsewhere.

“All tenants who are there now have the first rights to those units,” McCoy said. “Those tenants who are being moved will take their vouchers with them.”

A similar program was used when the Housing Authority of Joliet tore down the Poole Garden and Des Plaines Garden public housing projects. HAJ, however, replaced those apartment complexes with subdivisions that included single-family housing at Liberty Meadow Estates and town homes at Water’s Edge.

Riverwalk Homes will retain existing apartment buildings, although the demolition will lower the overall density of living space on the site.

The city took over the site after a lengthy court battle with private ownership that previously operated subsidized housing at the complex when it was named Evergreen Terrace. Joliet argued in court that Evergreen Terrace was overcrowded and under-maintained, leading to poor living conditions and criminal activity.

The city and Holsten took ownership in September 2017.

McCoy told the council that Riverwalk Homes has had an occupancy rate of 97% since Holsten took over management.

“We have stabilized the community,” she said.