Aurora will apply for $2 million in special coronavirus block grant money that would fund repairs to heating and air conditioning units for low- and moderate-income apartments.
Aldermen at Tuesday’s City Council meeting approved applying for a $2 million grant from the state of Illinois’ Healthy Houses Program, which is funded by federal Community Development Block Grant money that was appropriated through the CARES Act for recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
The money was additional from the usual Community Development Block Grant, or CDBG, funding. Originally, it was not available to cities such as Aurora that get their own regular CDBG entitlement.
But the state has made the money available, and Aurora officials have said they want to take advantage of it.
According to the program description, the money would be to “preserve multi-family, landlord-owned, low- to moderate-income units, up to six units total, and encourage neighborhood revitalization with an emphasis on maintaining health and safety.”
City officials have said the money could go toward repairing such things as heating and air conditioning, as well as duct work or other similar health and safety items.
The money would go to landlords in good standing with the city and who were impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
City officials have said there are 20,000 rental units in the city, and officials estimate the $2 million could serve between 100 and 150 individual units.
The rules of the program say that it can be used on buildings with up to six units, and that 51% of those units have to be occupied by people who meet federal low-income guidelines.
Aurora officials estimated that the city would actually see the money by the end of the year or mid-January 2025.
slord@tribpub.com
