Foreclosures are continuing in our neighborhoods, which is why Lakeside Community Development Corporation is pleased to co-sponsor several upcoming community forums on foreclosures. These events will provide community residents and leaders with valuable information on how to prevent our neighbors from losing their homes. Other event sponsors include the Interfaith Housing Center of the Northern Suburbs, Northwest Side Housing Center, Rogers Park Community Development Corporation, and North Side Community Federal Credit Union.

November is Affordable Housing Month in Illinois. The term "affordable housing" is familiar, yet like many terms which are familiar, may lack much meaning to the average person. Lakeside has created a quick-and-dirty tutorial on affordable housing, which we are distributing this month throughout our service area.

Lakeside CDC director Brian White joined members of North Side Power in a public call for affordable housing preservation on Friday February 22 in Rogers Park. The rally, held in front of a converted rental building that is mostly empty, attracted approximately 65 community residents. During his comments, White referenced a 2006 Lakeside study that showed how condo conversions had depleted the rental market by thousands of units in little more than three years. In addition, hundreds of units of new construction condos have also been added into the local market, creating a glut of condos that the average household simply cannot afford.

"In 2006, at the height of the conversion craze, Lakeside identified 42 large rental buildings under conversion at the same time. These buildings included more than 918 rental units...To put this in context, between 1989 and 2004, an average of 146 condominium units were created per year in Rogers Park."

The results of these trends on low- and moderate-income renters has been "devastating."

Community gardens are a tried-and-true means for promoting community pride, as well as a way to beautify public spaces. For years, the Rogers Park Metra station has projected an unkempt and neglected entryway into Rogers Park, despite being one of the most used stops on the Chicago-Kenosha North Line. That may change as residents of the immediate neighborhood join with the Rogers Park Garden Group to resurrect a community garden that was initiated, then abandoned at the station some years before (see photo).

Despite the slowdown in the condo conversion craze, renters in Rogers Park on Chicago's far north side face a great deal of uncertainty about their future. Rising rents, aging buildings, and continued speculation are likely to lead to more conversions in the future. A group of organizations are working together to make sure that if a conversion takes place, renters are educated about their rights and their options.

A recent study conducted by Lakeside Community Development Corporation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and creating affordable housing, finds that condominium conversions in the far north side Rogers Park community have significantly reduced the supply of affordable rental housing units and that it is white home buyers who are reaping the benefits while minority renters are being forced to live elsewhere.

In response to the city’s rapid addition of condominiums through rental conversions and new developments, Chicago’s Lakeside Community Development Corporation is offering a comprehensive training program to arm new owners with the ability to self-manage their condo associations and enjoy the full benefits of owning a home.

Lakeside CDC’s training session, titled “Forming and Operating a Small Condominium Association: A Practical Approach for Small Associations in Chicago,” is ideal for newly formed associations or those with a significant number of new officers or directors.