In front of a slideshow of renderings for an affordable housing development, Roger Hughes raised his arms in celebration.

“Glen Ellyn, we did it,” he told a church packed with people of many faiths, brought together by a common goal: to advance new, affordable, accessible and supportive housing where advocates say it is clearly needed.

“We’re finally reaching the finish line,” Hughes said.

Full Circle Communities will develop a 42-unit apartment building near the Roosevelt Road corridor. It’s the latest accomplishment for the Chicago-based nonprofit and its mission to expand affordable housing throughout the region.

In January, Arlington Heights trustees approved Full Circle’s plans to build 25 apartments for people with disabilities and veterans. The developer also turned the former Larkin Center campus in Elgin into an affordable housing community.

“I’m just grateful that in this time and in this place, people are recognizing a need that has been unrecognized and ignored for so many years,” said Hughes’ wife, Clara, another project supporter. “I really feel like there’s a lot of momentum now.”

The Glen Ellyn development is designed by the same architectural firm that was responsible for the town library. Like the latter, the new complex will have Tudor-inspired detailing, a nod to a style long associated with the village.

“Though we are celebrating the start of construction very soon, reaching this point is a real culmination of extremely hard work,” Full Circle Executive Vice President Lindsey Haines said.

No less than 55% of the units will be set aside as supportive housing for individuals with disabilities, as specified in a redevelopment agreement approved by the village board earlier this year. Officials also said then that a federal grant had been earmarked to reimburse the village for the cost of demolishing the site.

The federal government shutdown stalled the process with the grant funding. With the shutdown over, officials aim to have the demolition agreement on a village board agenda for consideration on Dec. 8 and anticipate that work moving forward shortly after.

DuPage United celebrated that approaching milestone during a gathering at Faith Lutheran Church in Glen Ellyn. The organization counts churches, mosques, a Lombard synagogue and various nonprofits among its member institutions and championed a yearslong campaign for the project.

It’s not a “one-and-done moment,” pledged Dr. Saima Azfar, who, along with Debbie Suggs and Clara Hughes, led the event as co-chairs. “DuPage United will call upon elected officials to expand this vision to other communities in DuPage County.”

‘Affects us all’

The Glen Ellyn development will serve individuals or families earning between 30% and 80% of the area median income. The building will have a mix of studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units.

“Our community faces a challenge that reaches into every neighborhood and every household: the urgent need for affordable housing,” Village Trustee Steve Thompson said. “This isn’t a city problem or a suburban problem. It’s a fundamental issue of economic stability and social equity that affects us all, from our workforce to our families, from our seniors to our young adults just starting out.”

The village in 2023 released a housing assessment that documented 96 legally restricted affordable housing units spread across four buildings.

“What gives me hope at this time is that more people in more places are talking about housing than ever before,” said state Rep. Marti Deuter, who worked for Chicago’s housing department before moving to Elmhurst.

Roger Hughes urged officials to streamline the approval process and reject the misinformation and stigma that often surrounds affordable housing.

“Help us help you by identifying parcels of land that are suitable for an affordable, supportive apartment development,” he said. At 640 Taft Ave., the project “was possible because the village of Glen Ellyn helped identify this property as a site for development.”

‘Kept fighting’

Some residents instead called for commercial redevelopment on the site. But Thompson made an economic case for affordable housing.

Businesses benefit from a more stable, reliable workforce that can afford to live where they work, he said. It also boosts the local economy when families aren’t forced to spend most of their income on housing and have more to spend at shops, restaurants and small businesses.

“That spending fuels economic growth, supports local jobs and generates the tax revenue that funds our parks, schools and infrastructure, and … it invests in our future,” Thompson said. “Stable housing creates stable lives.”

Suggs, a Wheaton resident, attested to that.

“I have raised my family at Marian Park. It is not only an affordable roof over my head. It has been my stable home for 53 years,” she said.

Parents of young adults with disabilities have said the development means their children will be able to live independently in the town they’ve always called home. The building will have on-site supportive services. It’s close to grocery stores, other retailers and public transit.

“A newly constructed, moderately-sized and professionally managed development will demonstrate the ‘right way’ to add affordable, accessible and supportive housing to a community,” Clara Hughes wrote in a letter to village officials as part of the housing push.

“You all brought us to the table and kept fighting for this project and its future residents every step along the way,” Haines said.

The gathering also signed a large banner with welcome notes to the future residents of the community.

https://www.dailyherald.com/20251115/news/a-fundamental-issue-advocates-celebrate-glen-ellyn-affordable-housing-development/