River Haven Place
East Dundee, Illinois
Housing Program
The development
Affordability in the rental market in East Dundee has been a growing issue, as demand for rental units and the number of cost-burdened renters have increased. With rental housing making up only a tiny sliver of the total housing stock in East Dundee, Village leadership partnered with Midwest developer Jim Bergman to introduce new rental opportunities that were affordable to residents.
River Haven Place is a 68-unit rental development located near the intersection of Illinois Route 25 and Illinois Route 72 in the Fox River Valley. The leasing process prioritizes placing veterans and their families into the units, and all veterans and active-duty military are eligible for a waiver of the application fee and a 50 percent reduction in required security deposit. The development is situated in the 24-acre River Haven subdivision, and was one of two developments completed by Jim Bergman in June 2013. Gardiner Place, another development which sits adjacent to River Haven Place, is an 80-unit affordable senior apartment complex.
Bringing River Haven Place to East Dundee required an intergovernmental agreement to be completed between the Village of East Dundee, the Dundee Township and the East Dundee Fire Department. As part of the agreement, the Village purchased three acres of the 24-acre River Haven subdivision for a new fire station that would be located closer to the communities that it serves. The police station would move from Village Hall to the old fire station after it was remodeled and renovated, and Village Hall would be modernized and expanded as a result of the police station’s relocation. Meeting the needs of all of these community stakeholders required a great amount of local cooperation, and resident input—including a referendum to move the fire station—was solicited and valued in the decision-making process. The real estate for the new fire station and the purchase of the old fire station and changes to the police station and Village Hall are being financed through the Village’s Tax Increment Financing Districts and the Village’s Business Development Districts. The River Haven subdivision is expected to generate about $200,000 in TIF dollars.
Creating affordability
All 68 units are affordable and subject to reduced rents. Seventeen units are for families that are earning less than 30 percent of the Kane County area median income (AMI), $23,850 for a four-person household in 2014, and 51 units are for households earning less than 60 percent of the Kane County AMI, or $47,700 for a four-person household in 2014.
Contact
Department of Economic Development, Village of East Dundee
847-426-2822, www.eastdundee.net
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Target
Veterans and relatives of veterans
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Development information
Type: Two-, three- and four-bedroom rental townhomes
Total Units: 68
Total Affordable Units: 68 -
Funding sources
IHDA 9 percent tax credits
Other gap financing
- Total Development Cost: $34 million (figure includes the adjacent affordable senior apartment complex, Gardiner Place)
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Success
The development will generate new Tax Increment Financing (TIF) revenue, and will help to attract employers and increase economic activity in the area.
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Lessons learned
There was some confusion in the difference between “affordable” and “Section 8” housing, which initially led to some pushback from the general public. Being able to communicate the benefits of the project in a clear and concise way to residents and businesses was critical to gaining their support.