While riding down McAlister Avenue in Waukegan, Domenick Martinelli points to houses he says are owned by absentee landlords.
One had no grass on the front lawn, no storm door and incomplete renovation work on the front porch and garage.
Such houses, Martinelli said, are appealing to absentee landlords because they can make a profit without investing in the property, a factor that has led to decay in parts of North Chicago and Waukegan.
“It reeks to me that the neighborhood is up for grabs,” said Martinelli, executive director of the not-for-profit Neighborhood Housing Services.
In the last 1 1/2 years, the Lake County branch of the national housing agency has helped eight low- to moderate-income families buy homes-renovated or new-as the first step in an effort to reverse the downward spiral some areas have experienced.
“We do housing as a means to revitalization,” Martinelli said. “It leaves an overall impression on the neighborhood.”
Martinelli said he hopes the program will help create a better environment by increasing local home ownership and, subsequently, reinvestment in neighborhoods.
For those in the program who might not normally qualify for home loans, financing is coming from 14 Lake County lenders that have combined their resources to create a $1.3 million pool. Those funds will be augmented with governmental grants.
Old houses, businesses and empty lots are being targeted by NHS for revitalization and the construction of new homes.
About eight families have moved into renovated or new homes in Waukegan and North Chicago since the program began in July 1992, according to Mark Van Halsema, director of neighborhood development for NHS.
Most of the renovated houses are more than 80 years old and require an investment of $30,000 to $50,000 to fix up, he said.
NHS has a strategy that includes placing 105 families in new or renovated houses within 36 months, and upgrading the image of North Chicago’s south side by targeting McAlister Avenue for an overhaul.
McAlister is a major thoroughfare in North Chicago and Waukegan, and has many empty lots and vacant houses that have been chosen by NHS for renovation.
Martinelli described North Chicago’s south side as “a tarnished diamond” that could be restored to its former brightness.
Some of the single-family homes owned by absentee landlords in the area are being illegally converted into two- or three-family houses, said North Chicago Mayor Bobby Thompson.
“A lot of this is being done on the weekends and at night” to be more inconspicuous, Thompson said. “A lot of these are Section 8 (federally subsidized homes) and are paying less taxes.”
Angelo Kyle, the Lake County Urban League’s chief executive officer and a Democratic County Board member, lauded the efforts of NHS but said it will take more than that effort alone to rebuild neighborhoods.
“It’s also going to take some moral building so people will feel better about themselves,” Kyle said.
There is no income criteria for families which want to apply to the NHS program for assistance, though most of them are low income, Martinelli said. He hopes that helping families at different income levels will help create diversity in the neighborhood.
Stephen and Denise Morenzoni are a prime exmple of the kind of families NHS is trying to help. Married for four years and expecting their first baby, the North Chicago couple had been renting an apartment at 18th Street and Sheridan Road, and didn’t think owning a home was financially possible.
“We really wanted to stay in the area,” Morenzoni said. “But to be perfectly honest, we didn’t think we could afford it.”
However, the Morenzonis learned about NHS, and with financial help arranged through the program they were able to move into their new home on Victoria Street last month. It has three bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths and a basement.
“Without this program, we wouldn’t be able to afford a home,” Morenzoni said. “I can see us being here 25, 30 years. I see us raising a family here.”
