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PROPOSED GRANT AWARD
Department: Department of Planning and Development within the Bureau of Economic Development Department
Grantee: Cook County, a body Politic
Grantor: State of Illinois, Department of Commerce and Economic Development
Request: Respectfully request the authority to receive the grant in the amount of $4,000,000 from the State of Illinois, Department of Commerce and Economic Development, authority to develop a budget and authority for the Department to enter into necessary contracts to facilitate renovations of two hotels for the purpose of homeless shelter development
Purpose: Pass-through funding needed renovations of two non-congregate fixed-site permanent shelter locations: Aloha Motel located at 8515 S. Cicero Avenue, Chicago, 60652 and the Margarita Inn located at 1566 Oak Avenue, Evanston, IL, 60201.
Grant Amount: $4,000,000.00
Grant Period: April 2025 - April 2027
Fiscal Impact: $4,000,000.00
Accounts: Budget accounts to be determined upon subject authority.
Concurrences:
The Budget Department has received all requisite documents and determined the fiscal impact on Cook County, if any.
Summary: In June 2024, the Department of Planning and Development, within the Bureau of Economic Development, applied for two awards of $2,000,000 each, totaling the subject $4,000,000, through the State of Illinois’ Community Development Block Grant-Coronavirus Urban Shelter Program. The Department received Notice of State Award Finalists on November 14, 2024, and expect to receive approval of funds by April 2025.
These funds will be used to renovate two non-congregate shelter facilities: the Aloha Motel located at 8515 S Cicero Avenue, Chicago 60652 and the Margarita Inn located at 1566 Oak Avenue, Evanston, IL 60201.
The Department of Planning and Development has previously received approval through related legislation for the acquisition of the two properties with the goal of conversion to permanent fixed-site shelters. Legislation item 23-4079 allocated $7,000,000 in ARPA funds for the purchase of an existing hotel, Margarita Inn, in Evanston, IL. Additionally, item number 24-2910 allocated $2,800,000 in CDBG-CV funds to acquire the Aloha Motel, which will also be converted into a permanent fixed-site transitional shelter serving Chicago and the southwest suburbs.
The Margarita Inn, a 100-year-old boutique hotel, requires critical renovations to provide safe, stable housing for the community. This non-congregate shelter is operated by Connections for the Homeless Inc., an organization focused on developing programs to assist people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. The $2,000,000 grant award will be utilized for the first phase of renovations to provide 46 rooms of permanent fixed-site shelter to the suburban Northshore community area. Connections for the Homeless has applied for supplementary funding to support additional phases of rehabilitation to the hotel facility.
The Aloha Motel, a 67-year-old limited-service facility, requires critical renovation to provide stable, safe, and adequate housing for the unhoused or people at risk of homelessness, within the community. The non-congregate shelter is operated by Bed Plus Care, Inc, an organization that provides evidence-based services to people experiencing homelessness and at imminent risk of homelessness in Southwest Suburban Cook County. The $2,000,000 grant award will be used for rehabilitation of the motel to provide 55 units of non-congregate shelter in Chicago and the near Southwest Suburbs. BEDS Plus Care, Inc. has applied for supplementary funding to support additional phases of rehabilitation to the motel facility
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