Is this “affordable” housing worth the cost?—Mindy Turbov

Chicago Tribune Letter to Editor:

The Chicago Tribune’s recent editorial regarding the proposed Fern Hill development sadly neglected to discuss the hidden costs to Edgewater - and all Chicago - taxpayers. The most egregious is the 30-year tax abatement to the developer worth as much as $40 million of taxpayer funds for 121 units of “affordable” housing. Due to Alderwomen Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth's actions, the entire 48th ward is now considered "a low-affordability community." That designation, which no other member of the City Council has seen fit to create, is an absurd tax giveaway. Under Manaa-Hoppenworth's program, developers will be rewarded with 30 years of steeply discounted property taxes for designating 20% of their units as affordable. However, these affordability requirements are already mandated under the Chicago Affordability Requirement Ordinance. The alderwoman's gift comes at the expense of all other homeowners and businesses who will make up the difference through even more increases in their property taxes.

The Fern Hill subsidy means a whopping $190,000 per unit gift for each of the 121 so-called affordable units. Furthermore, those “affordable” units are not for the most-needy but rather for households earning over as much as $50,000 per year with rents for studio and one-bedroom apartments ranging between $1,250 to $1,300. These rents and incomes do little to solve the affordability problem. Currently, Edgewater’s primary housing stock is comprised of thousands of studios and one-bedroom apartments, and they are "naturally occurring" affordable housing that gets no government subsidy. Edgewater does need affordable family housing, but Fern Hill has not committed to designating any of its two-or-three-bedroom units to be part of its affordable units. As a former affordable housing developer, I can assure you that the affordable units will be the smallest units, unless Fern Hill is required to provide affordable family units which it is not.

Edgewater has prime real estate ripe for development, especially on publicly-held land on Broadway between Bryn Mawr and Hollywood ideal for a major affordable and retail development. Chicago's precious lakefront is not the place for more high-rise buildings and retail.

Mindy Turbov