Downtown Commons

City: Jacksonville, Illinois

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Project Description: In South Jacksonville, turning a trouble neighborhood around started with targeting reinvestment at a cluster of run-down properties near the center of town. City officials bought and demolished the houses and several distressed properties nearby, creating the opportunity to build Downtown Commons, an affordable housing development financed with low-income housing tax credits and HOME dollars.

Completed in 2008, the fully occupied community of 22 apartments is designed to look like a row of single-family townhouses with their own front porches facing the town’s Main Street.

Windsor Development and the Morgan County Housing Authority partnered to develop Downtown Commons, gathering a block of properties, including 14 vacant lots seized for unpaid property taxes and five dilapidated homes. The development features energy efficient windows, insulation, lighting, and appliances. Downtown Commons also creates a future homeownership opportunity for tenants who want to buy their homes at an affordable price. In 2010, Downtown Commons was awarded the Governors Champions of Affordable Housing Award.

Downtown Commons

Project Partners: Windsor Development Group, Inc., the City of Jacksonville, Morgan County Housing Authority

Sources of Funds: Illinois Housing Development Authority Trust Fund, IHDA Financing Adjustment Factor (FAF) Program, Tax Credit Equity, Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) Energy Grant, City of Jacksonville, MCCS Non-Profit land

Economic Impact: In the first year: 27 Jobs Created, $1.7 million in local income, $181,940 in taxes and revenue for local government. Over fifteen years- 99 Jobs created, $7.9 million in local income, $1.5 million in taxes and revenue for local government.