BusinessWeek has recognized northwest suburban Mount Prospect, one of MPC’s employer-assisted housing partners, as an affordable and safe community with a great public education system.
The village of Mount Prospect, a quiet community located 22 miles northwest
of downtown Chicago, has been found out.
Although the 56,000 current
residents of
Mount
Prospect
have already discovered the charms of their small municipality, the
village gained national attention in November 2008, when
BusinessWeek
named Mount Prospect the “
Best Place in America to Raise
Kids
”. Affordability was one factor considered in the quest to identify the optimal
town. The quality of public education
and safety in the community also topped the list of criteria.
There
is little doubt the
housing initiatives implemented and managed by Mayor Irvana Wilks and
village staff have made a significant contribution to the
health and
affordability of Mount Prospect’s housing market. One such initiative
is
an employer - assisted
housing (EAH) program for municipal workers. Launched in late 2008,
the village has a budget to assist two
eligible employees with down payment. The program also includes
pre-purchase counseling and education through
a local organization, Housing Opportunity Development Corporation.
And, thanks to the village’s recognition
as the best place to raise kids, employees now have added incentive to take
advantage of their employer’s offer to help them with a home purchase!
The seed was planted for the employee program during a
2007 collaboration known as the
Charter One Workforce Housing
Initiative,
in which Mayor Wilks partnered with
mayors of neighboring towns to engage employers in workforce housing solutions.
Mount Prospect
was not only a host of that event, but also became the
first employer to launch an employee benefit, and to take advantage of Charter
One Bank’s incentives for small businesses.
In addition to the new EAH program, to
stimulate homeownership and improve the condition of existing properties,
the village has a first-time homebuyer assistance program
for income-eligible homebuyers, single-family rehabilitation loan, and property inspection
program. In
2008, three homebuyers utilized the first-time buyer program, each receiving
$10,000 in down payment assistance.
Mount
Prospect,
it looks like
your
hard work is paying off!
With this recognition of your community’s strengths - even in this tough
housing market - other communities and employers will learn from your innovative
leadership.
For more information on EAH and business incentives, visit the
REACH
website, and contact Lillie Jernigan at 312-863-6005 or ljernigan@metroplanning.org.