Rahm Targets Foreclosures with $20 Million Recovery Program

By Chuck Sudo in News on Aug 18, 2011 1:37PM

With foreclosed homes still vacant and resources to rehabilitate them running out, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced a "Micro Market Recovery Program" yesterday that provides a $20 million loan pool to turn around foreclosed properties.

The program will target the nine neighborhoods hit hardest by the housing market crash - Humboldt Park; Chatham; Chicago Lawn; West Woodlawn; Auburn-Gresham; West Pullman; Belmont-Cragin, Englewood and Grand Boulevard. The $20 million pool was provided by the MacArthur Foundation, with a goal of building it up to $50 million. The City hopes to identify community groups in each neighborhood to find foreclosed properties, buy them using the loan pool funds, rehab them and make them market-ready.

The neighborhoods the program targets are ones that have high concentrations of foreclosed properties with a history of investment by community development groups that are deemed attractive neighborhoods for potential homeowners.