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McHenry and the McHenry County Board want to fund a new apartment project in the City of McHenry.
Taylor Place Apartments will have 54 apartments with about 56,000 square feet of rentable space. The project is expected to cost about $22 million and relies on government grants and tax credits. According to the article in the Northwest Herald, “Officials have stressed this cost is in line with others around the state.”
This last statement is a lie. I choose that word carefully. A lie is when the statement is false and the person making the statement knows it.
Multifamily units in McHenry over the last several months sold for an average of $178,000 per unit and $130 per square foot. This project will cost over $400,000 per unit and $410 per square foot of rentable space.
How in the world can the city council and the county board justify overpaying by more than three times the market price per square foot to finance this project? Simply saying some good will be done is insufficient. There are much economical ways to provide housing assistance than building a vastly over-priced apartment complex. This is simply a massive tax money grab by the developer and its investors.
The voters would do well to remember this project when election time rolls around. It’s the job of elected officials to protect the public from this, not to be a willing accomplice.
Steve Willson
Lakewood