A New Way to Preserve Affordable Housing In Chicago

housing in chicago
Creative Commons
housing in chicago
Creative Commons

A New Way to Preserve Affordable Housing In Chicago

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While some Chicago neighborhoods haven’t yet recovered from the housing crisis, a group in one part has turned the problem of foreclosures into an opportunity. 

On the Northwest side an initiative known as ROOTS - that’s an acronym for Renters Organizing Ourselves to Stay - has taken 19 foreclosed properties and made them into permanent affordable housing for longtime residents who were at risk of being priced out of rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods. 

WBEZ’s Odette Yousef first reported on this two years ago when it was still just an idea, and she joins Morning Shift with an update. We also hear from Andrew Geer, of Enterprise Community Partners, which helped finance the deal.