With two steps now approved, the third – and most critical – step for a senior housing development is still needed to green light a south side Kankakee complex.

Approval from the Illinois Housing Development Authority is still needed by Rodger Brown, president of New Directions Housing Corporation, of Lombard, for the proposed $17 million, 32-unit development to begin.

At Monday’s Kankakee City Council meeting, the 4th Ward project received unanimous approval. It has also received unanimous approval on April 21 from the Kankakee Planning Board.

The thumbs up or thumbs down IHDA notification is anticipated either this month or June. IHDA provides tax credits for these residential developments.

Tax credits aid affordable housing projects by providing dollar-for-dollar reductions in tax liability, which developers sell to investors to raise up-front equity financing.

The Kankakee County Housing Authority is also awaiting word from IHDA regarding an $18-million housing project along North Wildwood Avenue.

The KCHA is seeking to demolish the long-standing, 11-building housing complex along North Wildwood and construct a new 10-building complex – which would be comprised of 30 one-bedroom units and 10 two-bedroom units – similar to the development just off North Fifth Avenue, which was completed about two years ago.

The planned KCHA development would be similar to the recently constructed West Harbor Residence in Kankakee’s 5th Ward, meaning it would be made up of a combination of duplexes and triplexes, said KCHA executive director Joseph Anderson.

The West Harbor complex opened in July 2025 and is a $14 million, 36-unit project that replaced out-of-date public-assisted housing.

Anderson said an answer from IHDA is anticipated by mid- to late June.

If the KCHA development gains an approval, Anderson said construction could begin in March 2027 with completion targeted for May 2028.

But as of now, Anderson, who took over as KCHA executive director in April 2025, can only wait.

“We are trying to reimagine what housing can look like,” he said. “We are hoping to get this award, but if not, we will make (application) changes and get it submitted for the next round.”

Regarding the proposed Riverstone Senior Living complex, which is located on a 3.6-acre lot immediately northwest of Kankakee’s Super Walmart store, it would include 22 one-bedroom units and 10 two-bedroom apartments.

The development would target low-income senior citizens, age 62 and older, who are earning at or below 80% of the area median income.

Per development plans, the one-bedroom units would be 605 square feet, while the two-bedroom units would be 830 square feet.

Rents would range from $350 for one-bedroom units to about $1,200 for larger apartments.

If successful with IHDA, Brown previously stated construction could begin in early 2027 and completion would likely be in early 2028.

Brown had proposed a two-story, 50-unit senior housing project neighboring the Kankakee Aldi grocery store about two years ago. That project, however, failed to gain traction with IHDA, and Brown took the project elsewhere.

He had also proposed a 50-unit development in Bradley, not far from Northfield Square mall, but the development failed to gain support from the Bradley Village Board.