Georgette Braun: Forest Glen an affordable-housing inspiration in Rockford - News - Rockford Register Star
Forest Glen's name has been popping up in conversations the past few months among movers and shakers in Rockford.
They're saying the 140-unit apartment complex near McFarland Road and East Riverside Boulevard — with a swimming pool, tennis courts, garages and manicured landscaping, as well as comparatively little crime surrounding it — is a good example of what affordable housing should be: 56 units are set aside for income-restricted renters.
The talk about Forest Glen Apartments has been fueled by a plan that was pulled back last week by a Wisconsin-based developer to build 65 apartments in east Rockford off South New Towne Drive. Eighty-eight percent would be for low-income renters. The plan called for housing about 150 residents, most from the 650-resident Fairgrounds Valley, a decaying property on the west side that the Rockford Housing Authority wants to raze. The 210-unit complex is 47 years old.
Residents of the New Towne area protested at heated public meetings, saying they feared that their homes would lose value and crime could rise if the apartment complex was built. Gorman & Company, which manages other RHA units, told the city that it had heard the feedback and would revise its proposal for New Towne.
Meanwhile, Winnebago County Board Chairman Scott Christiansen is among leaders who say new plans might look to Forest Glen for inspiration.
Forest Glen was built two decades ago and received tax credits in exchange for offering a portion of its units below market rate. Varin Realty of Highland Park bought Forest Glen about three years ago, and it is virtually fully occupied. Consider these comparative figures:
A fraction of the 56 units set aside as affordable receive rent subsidies at Forest Glen, said David Nankin, managing member of Varin. To qualify for subsidies, up to three household members in a two-bedroom apartment could earn up to $36,450 a year. Those renters now pay as little as $200 a month for rent or as much as $794.
Renters in the 84 units that are not set aside pay $980 to $1,295, the latter for a three-bedroom apartment.
At Fairgrounds, residents' average annual income is $6,402. The average monthly rent charge ranges from $14.53 to $53.44.
The average monthly rent in Rockford in 2013 was $727, compared with $885 for Illinois and $905 for the nation, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
Other comparisons
Properties surrounding Forest Glen have weathered values better since the Great Recession than those surrounding Fairgrounds and the 6-acre New Towne site.
An analysis arranged for by Ald. Joseph Chiarelli, who represents the New Towne area and has spoken out against the Gorman-RHA plan, showed that:
The average fair-market value of 52 houses surrounding Fairgrounds was $32,807 in 2009, compared with $21,440 last year, a 34.6 percent drop. For 69 houses around the South New Towne site, the value was $120,104, compared with $82,009, a 31.7 percent drop. For 39 houses around Forest Glen, the value was $217,156, compared with $167,821, a 22.7 percent drop.
The number of police calls for the first six months this year within a half-mile of the sites: 364 for Fairgrounds, 50 for South New Towne, 27 for Forest Glen.
Forest Glen's reputation is so good that Varin Realty is renaming an apartment complex it bought on the west side in November to piggyback on the vibe: Chatham Court Apartments, 1905 W. Riverside Blvd. on the west side, will become Riverside Glen.
Nankin said Varin is investing here because "we think the values in Rockford are very attractive, and we believe positive things are going on, like with Woodward." Woodward Inc. has built a $250 million factory and office complex for the building of aerospace systems in Loves Park, and plans to add 700 good-paying jobs by 2021.
The name is being changed partly because of image. "Chatham had a difficult past, and having a new image for the property" is important. He said the 120-unit complex that was built in the mid-1990s using tax credits had poor maintenance and lighting. Lighting and landscaping have been upgraded, new appliances have replaced old ones, and wood-like vinyl flooring has been added.
All of the units are for income-restricted renters, and some renters receive subsidies. Typical rents range from $575 to $650 a month, with the latter for a three-bedroom unit.
"We pride ourselves on hands-on management," Nankin said. "We do a thorough applicant screening. It comes down to the strength of management."
Georgette Braun: 815-987-1331; gbraun@rrstar.com; @GeorgetteBraun
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