Madison County, IL

Madison County, IL, was a 20th century industrial powerhouse with productive and profitable steel mills and oil refineries that prospered in part because of their fortunate location on the Mississippi River in the shadow of St. Louis.  The 1980s brought a gradual decline in Madison County’s prospects and, in the waning years of its industrial hayday, the Madison County Community Development Department struggled to provide quality affordable housing and manage its dilapidated building stock.  The County partnered with NDC in 1996 to achieve two primary goals:  expand the development of for-sale housing in the older communities along the Mississippi River through local Community Housing Development Organizations (CHDOs) and leverage affordable housing development through the HOME program.  NDC worked with the County to reach those critical milestones – and stayed to do even more as the County’s goals evolved.

Today, the County has a number of very successful home ownership and rental housing projects to its credit and it continues to develop its affordable housing stock in its ongoing efforts to make Madison County a vibrant community with a strong economy. 

Selected Madison County accomplishments:

Madison Senior is a 14-unit senior development in Madison.  NDC is the general partner.  Other financing includes IHDA Housing Trust Funds and MCCD HOME funds.  NDC assisted with negotiations with the owner, construction lender, IHDA and MCCD and also prepared applications to IHDA and MCCD.  The development set a high standard in Madison County and helped create acceptance for quality, affordable housing.

Washington Avenue Apartments is an 85-unit family development in the cities of Madison and Venice developed by NDC to replace an obsolete public housing development, housed in railroad boxcars, and redevelop a block of private property. It required IHDA and HUD approvals, and used financing from IHDA, MCCD HOME, and a MCHA Capital Grant.  The project relocated the 40 families living in the original substandard units into quality affordable housing. The development increased the cities’ stock of quality affordable housing, increased property taxes and facilitated the development of home ownership units in the neighborhood.

Meachum Crossing is a 78-unit, mixed-income family development in Venice currently under development.  It will replace the functionally obsolete 88-unit Lee Wright Homes public housing development, creating a less dense community with a greater sense of personal space.  The Madison County Housing Authority is the project developer.  NDC has assisted in the structuring and financing of the development including IHDA, MCCD, MCHA Capital Grant, FHLB AHP and private financing.

Greenwood Avenue Apartments is a 12-unit senior development in Madison.  The project included demolition of an 1890 meat packing plant located in a residential area and the development of 6 duplex (12 units) independent living apartments for seniors.  NDC is the general partner.  Other financing includes MCCD HOME funds.

Humboldt School is a 44-unit senior development in the Hunterstown neighborhood of Alton.  NDC is a co-general partner with a local non-profit.  The development leveraged over $5 million to a neighborhood where the City is promoting investment and home ownership.  The development is financed with LIHTC, HTF, HOME, CDBG, Illinois 1st and FHLB AHP funds.

St. Clare’s Villa is a 64-unit senior supportive living development located in previously vacant floors of St. Clare’s Hospital in Alton one block from Humboldt School.  The development provides affordable supportive living for frail seniors but also created 18 jobs and leveraged over $7 million that furthered neighborhood improvement.  NDC assisted in structuring the project’s financing, which uses Medicaid waiver services, LIHTC, HTF, HOME and Division of Health Services funding.

E. Alton Home Ownership Development is a 14 home development on the site of the abandoned Blair Elementary School.  NDC assisted the Village and MCCD structure the financing for demolition and clean-up of the site and market the site to a developer.  All houses were sold prior to construction, increasing tax base and community pride.