Dozens of affordable housing tenants at 2014, 2018 and 2024 Wesley Avenue in Evanston’s predominantly Black 5th Ward are still scrambling to find housing after receiving a letter from the city this February advising them to vacate their homes due to safety concerns.
The city’s Equity and Empowerment Commission sent a letter to City Council and Mayor Daniel Biss on April 18 advocating for the residents. Several of these residents have lived in the neighborhood for decades, making the transition difficult and the commission is urging the city to help them find housing in the same area.
“We need better protections for Black seniors and legacy Black families in Evanston. Renters deserve a home. We should not be displacing residents out of town or out of the 5th Ward,” the commission’s letter reads. “When someone rents their home at a reduced income they are just as deserving of housing protections as homeowners and higher income residents.”
Commissioners are also urging the city to use an equity scorecard when addressing situations like the Wesley Avenue dilemma. This would include addressing the problem’s root cause, inclusion practices, community-wide respect, a collaborative long-range vision and prioritizing the residents rather than potential gains.
One way the commissioners suggested doing this is by creating a land trust, the letter states.
“The city could support the Wesley residents by providing creative options for a right to return,” the letter reads. “Community land trust ownership of the underlying land in perpetuity, perhaps through Community Partners for Affordable Housing, with a limited equity co-op owned and controlled by the tenants could be a vehicle to save their existing housing and build wealth too.”
Commissioners also expressed a desire for the city to use Tax Incremental Financing dollars, or TIF, to fund a project at the property as well as a statement from the city acknowledging its mistake in this scenario.
Wesley Avenue residents are facing safety concerns about the California-style apartment’s staircase. The building only has one staircase taking residents to their units, meaning if a repair took place residents would have to leave, and if the stairs become unusable, residents wouldn’t be able to get to their homes. Repair costs are expected to be more than $1.5 million.
The Evanston Housing Coalition owns these properties and managed them until September 2022. The Housing Opportunity Development Corporation was brought in at that time to help the coalition, HODC Executive Director Richard Koenig previously told Pioneer Press.
Evanston officials promised to help the residents with the transition. The city offered residents short-term housing, housing search assistance, financial assistance for packing and moving, six months of storage unit rental, initial apartment application and first month’s rent financial assistance and a rental subsidy to keep rent costs the same if tenants can’t find an equally priced home, according to a flier the city gave residents in February.
Corey Schmidt is a freelance reporter with Pioneer Press.
