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What's the need?
The following gives a
snapshot of the magnitude of the housing
crisis in Evanston:
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How many households?
6400 Evanston households have incomes
of $25,000 or less. This represents
21% of all households in Evanston.
A total of 7,518 Evanston residents
( 823 families) live below the poverty
line. This represents 10% of the
population – an increase from 1990
when 9% of the population was below
the poverty line.
- Rent prices?
The monthly rent of a two-bedroom
apartment in 2000 ranged between $715
and $1,300.
- What are people
actually paying?
4,852 non-elderly households were
paying in excess of 30% of their income
in rent (2000 census).
852 elderly one and two member
households were paying more than
30% of their incomes in rent (2000
census).
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Section 8? Evanston has
982 Section 8 voucher holders, the
third highest concentration of Section
8 families of all Chicago suburbs,
and almost 65% of the north suburban
Section 8 families, even though
the Evanston rental stock (14,663)
is 47% of the north suburban region’s
stock (30,920 units). These families
are predominantly located in the
low-income and African-American
census tracts.
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Is home-buying an alternative?
The average price of a single-family
detached home was $390,786 in 2000,
substantially out of the price range
of even a moderate-income household.
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Condo conversion? 1202 rental
units were lost due to condo conversion
between 1990 and 2002, and many
of the displaced tenants had low
incomes and few options. According
to the Consolidated Plan, “No units
were put on the market in Evanston
through private investment that
were affordable to low- or moderate-income
families.”
What's available?
In 1999, Evanston had
a total of 30,817 housing units, of
which 14,039 (46%) were rental units.
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485 Single Room Occupancy (SRO)
units in Evanston, including
facilities used by Northwestern
University students living off-campus.
Nearly half these units are in the
YMCA. The average efficiency apartment
in Evanston rents for $590/month,
out of the reach of a minimum wage
worker or individual on social security.
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39 housing units for people
with developmental disabilities.
Waiting lists can take 10 years
to clear.
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200 public housing units
for the elderly, operated
by the Cook County Housing Authority,
and a Section 202 building with
100 units.
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45 public housing units for
families, all scattered site,
operated by the Cook County Housing
Authority.
- 107 rental units
developed deliberately to be affordable
to very low- and low-income families,
developed by Evanston Housing Coalition,
the Housing Opportunity Development
Corporation, and Reba Place Development
Corporation.
(This is in contrast
to new condo construction: According
to the Chicago Sun-Times (December
8, 2000), the downtown area is seeing
the following new developments:
a 17-story, 105-unit condo development
with prices ranging from $172,000
(for a one-bedroom) to $712,900
(Church Street Station); a 13-story,
105-unit development with prices
from $170,000 to $325,000 (800 Davis);
a 157-unit, $40 million development
(Chicago and Dempster); a condo
conversion of rentals at the former
Marshall Fields with prices ranging
from $165,000 to $275,000 with $24,000
for parking.)
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