Voice-POAH Announcement

Pictured: mother and child at Lakeview Towers, 4550 N. Clarendon

Photography by Thom Clark

Graphic Design by Christopher Rohrbeck

Chicago, IL — July 29, 2020

Contact: Michael Rohrbeck, michael@uptownvoice.org

===================================

Almost 200 units of affordable housing will be preserved by Voice of the People in Uptown through a new partnership with the national non-profit housing organization Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH).

“Quality property management, tenant services, and long term affordability is what our organization is about” said Maurice Hamp, Voice President. In this new partnership, POAH helps make it possible by leveraging its experience in financing and property management.

As a community and tenant-led non-profit group, Voice of the People has helped to make affordable housing opportunities possible in Uptown for more than fifty years, including with a portfolio of residential properties owned in partnership with others.

Since 2008, Voice has been a community partner with the Chicago Community Development Corporation (CCDC) and its founder, Tony Fusco, as part of four real estate developments, with a total of eleven buildings and 192 family apartments.

In planning its next fifty years of service in Uptown, Voice found a successor-partner with a shared sense of priorities in Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH). Voice supports POAH in financing and property management, while providing resident services connecting tenants to resources, programs, and opportunities. While Voice has strong connections with Chicago housing and service providers, the partnership with POAH opens up a national network of successful developments and learning opportunities.

“POAH is delighted to partner with Voice to preserve this housing as affordable for the long term in the face of rapidly rising rents and dwindling opportunities,” said Bill Eager, POAH’s Senior VP in the Midwest.  “Voice’s roots in the community and experience with the residents, combined with our ownership and property management approach, make for a great team. Hopefully we can build on this partnership to preserve additional affordable assets in the years to come.”

The Uptown properties are POAH’s first on the north lakefront and bring to approximately 2,000 the number of apartments it owns and manages in Chicago since entering the market a decade ago.

’Sweet Home Uptown’ is the name of this year’s campaign where we look back at a storied history, but also forward to how we can continue to sustain affordable housing and economic diversity,” said Mike Rohrbeck, Voice’s Executive Director.  “This new partnership models what needs to happen more broadly in our community and throughout the City.”

“I’m pleased that this new partnership will continue to assure Voice’s historic role in the preservation of affordable housing and advocacy for low income families in the Uptown community for the next 50 years” stated Tony Fusco of CCDC.  “In these difficult times, their ‘VOICE’ is needed now more than ever.”

During his tenure, Tony Fusco of CCDC made possible the preservation of thousands of units of affordable housing in Chicago and Illinois, including with Voice’s help, the 500-unit, resident-controlled Lakeview Towers development in Uptown (pictured in background).