Rockford aldermen delayed a vote surrounding a proposed affordable housing development on the city's east side. The New Towne project involves 49 units intended to replace some government subsidized units on the city's west side.
Critics scoffed at the price tag when it was first introduced. Aldermen even brought in legal expertise for advice on how to proceed.
WREX: Rockford Aldermen push back vote on New Towne
Rockford-area state Senator Dave Syverson tells WNIJ that local leaders and federal housing authorities should push to rehabilitate scattered homes around the city instead of looking at another “clustered” housing solution.
“I still think they have their priorities backwards when they want to spend this much money building new housing, and not dealing with the problem of what’s driving people into this government housing," Syverson said.
Syverson fears the current housing plan relies too heavily on new construction.
“The problem is not the quality of the living structure. The problem is-- how do you deal with the residents, getting them educated, getting them job training, and pushing them out of the nest,” Syverson said.
According to the Rockford Register-Star, the company in charge of planning the development may take legal actiondue to the council’s decision to delay a vote on the proposed plat map.
The matter has been laid over until next month.
