Mary Hansen
The State Journal-Register
When Dana Chaney, property manager for the 184-unit Boulevard Townhomes on MacArthur Boulevard, moved families in to the newly renovated townhouses in July, she said they were thrilled. The apartments furnished with new stoves, dishwashers, carpets and cabinets are a far cry from the condition city inspectors found the housing complex, then the MacArthur Park Apartments, in five years ago.
With the help of $15 million in financing and approximately $1.3 million in tax credits through the Illinois Housing Development Authority, Kansas-based Cohen-Esrey Affordable Partners purchased the property in 2015 with big plans to renovate it.
The company showed off progress on the overhaul, which includes a redone community center and playground in addition to upgraded units, at an open house on Thursday. About 20 renovated units are available to rent and another 10 are occupied. Company representatives said the $6 million renovation project should be complete in late March of next year.
“This is really wonderful,” said MacArthur Boulevard Association board member Julie Dirksen, who toured a refurbished unit. “The amount of effort they put in it, the financial commitment that they are making, definitely wanting to work for the betterment of the community, what more could you ask for?”
The upgraded apartments come with higher monthly rents, increasing from $445 to $685 for a two-bedroom garden unit and from $525 to $720 for two-bedroom, two-floor townhouse.
A handful of residents in the new units had been living at the complex before construction began. A couple of the 20 or so tenants still living in the older units currently qualify for the updated townhouses, Chaney said. Some of those who don’t qualify make more money than the income cap, while others can’t afford new rents or don’t meet other qualifications, including credit and background checks.
Because the company used affordable-housing tax credits, tenants’ income must fall into a range determined by the state housing authority. Annual income for a single resident can’t be above $30,906, and for a four-person family, it can’t be more than $44,220.
Anderson said the company is working on getting approval from the Springfield Housing Authority to accept applicants with Section 8, the federal housing voucher for low-income residents. The city housing authority put a freeze on processing vouchers for the complex in 2011 when Granite Investment owned it.
Joe McMenamin for Ward 7 