The first Building Successful Mixed-Income Communities forum of 2008 explored the rehabilitation of CHA’s remaining family properties.
On Feb. 28, 2008, more than 100 stakeholders, residents
and policymakers attended “Revisiting the Rehabs,” MPC’s 13th
Building
Successful Mixed-Income Communities
forum. Focusing on the renovation
of existing CHA family properties, the first forum of the year expanded the
public dialogue in the series beyond the mixed-income sites to the broader Plan
for Transformation, which is creating a variety of housing options for
CHA residents. While the rehabs and scattered sites have not been referred
to as
mixed-income communities, the goals at the heart of the Plan are to improve the buildings
and support residents at these sites as well.
The
"mixing" of incomes at these sites is more about increasing the income and
income sources of existing residents rather than creating new housing
types.
Two of Chicago’s newest housing leaders, Lewis Jordan , CEO of CHA, and Ellen
Sahli , commissioner of the Chicago Dept. of Housing, opened the forum, which
featured a panel discussion with a national researcher, Dr. Thomas Boston ,
professor of Economics, Georgia Tech University; and local practitioners,
Charles Hillman , assistant director of asset management,
CHA
; and
Mary Wiggins , chair of the Residents’ Central Advisory Council (CAC), and a
member of the CHA Board of Commissioners. Pam Daniels-Halisi , senior vice president of community development lending
at LaSalle/Bank of America, and MPC Housing Committee member, moderated the
panel. MPC also
released its latest Plan for Transformation Update on the development status of renovated
family properties, scattered sites, and new mixed-income communities.
As the newly appointed CEO of
CHA,
Mr. Jordan expressed his
excitement about working with CHA staff and partners, and building on the level of
interest and support of so many stakeholders in making the Plan for Transformation
a success. He spoke frankly about the poor quality of CHA’s traditional public
housing in the past, but emphasized a commitment to improving the physical quality
of the housing, as well as higher expectations for residents’ quality
of
life.
“Chicago is
in the midst of the largest public housing redevelopment in the country,” he
said. While continuing to raise standards, “the foundation of CHA’s vision should
be quality of life for residents. When children become 18, CHA’s goal is to
make sure they have other options,”
said
Jordan.
Commissioner Sahli connected the Plan for Transformation
to the city’s larger affordable housing agenda
. Homes preserved and created through the
Plan advance the city’s overall affordable housing goals for both low and
moderate-income families. Ms. Sahli, who has an extensive background in the
supportive housing field, also highlighted the importance of combining rent
subsidies with support services to help people increase their incomes.
Dr. Boston shared insights based on his four-year research of outcomes for Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA)
residents. Using data for every AHA household over the past 10 years, his
research tracked indicators such as employment status, income, education, and
poverty status over time and linked them to community indicators such as crime
rates, poverty levels, and school quality. “When families have access to quality
housing and neighborhoods, they have drastically different socio-economic
outcomes,” he said. Dr. Boston is in the initial stage of a similar study
of
CHA residents, funded by the MacArthur Foundation.
Boston
stressed the correlation between neighborhood stability and resident
self-sufficiency.
“Housing
assistance alone will not lead to self-sufficiency,” he said, and attention must
be placed on broader service and community networks.
He described other best practices for
achieving the goal of self-sufficiency for residents and creating better
neighborhoods, such as engaging public and private partners to improve original
neighborhoods with necessary policies and to attract new investment. “In
many communities, financing is easier to address than the sociology of making
them successful,”
said
Boston.
Hillman outlined the
overall physical, cultural, and economic goals of the Plan for
Transformation for CHA leaseholders
. As of the end of 2007, CHA has
completed 65 percent of its goal to create 25,000 homes. Of that,
CHA has renovated more than 2,000 units in traditional family
properties
,
representing 43 percent of its goal for these sites.
Hillman
described the comprehensive renovations—infrastructure, interior, exterior—that
are completed, taking place or planned in a number of family properties
including, Altgeld-Murray,
Lawndale
, and Washington Park Low-Rise homes.
The cost of these renovations has increased significantly since the beginning of
the Plan, with a current cost between $120,000 and $150,000 per unit. Along with
investments in physical renovations, he said, “CHA wants to be comprehensive in
its efforts and spends over $25 million of its own funds and from its
partnerships on social services such as case management, children and youth
services, and workforce development.” These services and more are provided in
all communities where CHA residents temporarily or permanently reside. Moreover,
Hillman stressed that “all residents of
Chicago
have a lot to offer, including CHA
families, and people should not be defined by their landlords.”
Ms. Wiggins spoke from her perspective as a CHA
resident, leader of the Resident’s Central Advisory Council (CAC) and a member
of the Board of Commissioners. She reiterated the goal to move all residents to
self-sufficiency, including those living in the rehabbed family properties and
stressed that all stakeholders are “working for the greater good of CHA
residents.” Given the large investments of CHA and its partners, she said, “No
one is asking CHA to spend money and not hold residents accountable,” but it’s
important to remember that “employment places have closed and residents are
affected by the job market like other Chicagoans.” Ms. Wiggins also emphasized
“many CHA residents are successful and have moved on from public housing, but
their stories are not told.”
A brief Q&A session following the panelists’
presentations touched on a variety of topics, including the additional supports
and resources needed in the “rehabs,” impact of the Plan for Transformation on
children, and importance of the rehabs to the overall Plan for
Transformation.
Even at the conclusion of a robust Q&A session,
there was still tremendous appetite for further dialogue and debate.
MPC explained there would be future
opportunities to delve into the many topics touched on at the forum, such as
building rehabilitation, property management, neighborhood redevelopment, social
services, and resident engagement.