“Veterans’ Village” not really village for veterans
Near Chicago, is an $11 million project ostensibly to house homeless veterans with a 35-unit single bedroom set of apartments, according to the Cook County Chronicle.
In June, Veterans Village celebrated its grand-opening celebration. The $11 million Melrose Veterans Project covers three city blocks in the 100 blocks of 13th, 14th and 15th avenues near Westlake Hospital, which donated the land.
A festive Flag Day party and open house was held, involving veterans, politicians and food. The Melrose Park Police Color Guard presented a flag ceremony, Mayor Ron Serpico cut a ribbon, the national anthem was sung and veterans from all wars were present.
“Our nation’s returning heroes deserve a place to come home to that meets their unique needs and that of their families,” said Neli Vazquez-Rowland, president of administering not-for-profit, A Safe Haven Foundation.
So, after the parades and speechifying, less than a third of the apartments in “Veterans’ Village” went to veterans – veterans that applied for the apartments, were left hanging waiting for word on their new homes.
Different layers of public funding come with strings attached. Two-thirds of the units in Veteran Village have already been promised to other categories of residents to comply with government set-asides.
“We have strict criteria we have to meet with different layers of funding,” said Vazquez-Rowland in an interview. “We do have a vet preference, but we don’t have a guarantee for veterans.”
So, why call it “Veterans’ Village”? Because it makes people feel better about themselves for supporting veterans without having to actually do anything for veterans.
CCHA Spokeswoman Monique Bond said Housing Choice tenants who’ve already moved in have veteran status.
“Three (possibly four now) veterans have been approved and we are seeking to approve five more,” Bond wrote in an email. “The remaining slots will be assigned to veterans once they meet the criteria.”
When the development is full, between 12 to 15 units — or 33-40 percent — of the Veterans Village will be rented by actual veterans, Vazquez-Rowland said.
Yippee!
Category: Veterans Issues
Perhaps the project’s name is simply an example of Orwellian Newspeak.
This.
Only because we keep letting this crap happen.
All the blame for all our ills as a nation lays squarely on the shoulders of we, the citizens.
“Section Eight Acres” is closer to the mark
Boycott the silly place. There is better, more accessible housing elsewhere.
Hmm. $11M / 35 = just over $314k cost per unit. I’d have guessed maybe half that as reasonable cost for building 1 BR apartments that presumably are in the 600-800 sq ft range.
I guess that “reasonable and customary Chicago-area overhead” must add a dollar or two per unit.
It may be outside the official city limit, but it looks to me like it’s still Chicago. I wonder exactly how much the Glorious Leader’s old crew made off of this farce?
Land was donated as well so the cost is incredible….
The cost is expensive, but not all that surprising. A rule-of-thumb base for residential construction starts at around $100 per square foot. For something like the Cook County project, you would also likely be dealing with commercial building codes, union labor, ADA compliance, architectural fees, environmental reports, etc.
Here’s a link to another Veteran’s Village project recently completed in Glendale, California. It was 44 units at a cost of $20 million, or $455,000 per unit:
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-homeless-veterans-20160406-story.html
Here’s another one in Gary, Indiana. Also 44 units completed last year for $10.1 million:
http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/lake/gary/veterans-village-seeking-to-help-homeless-veterans/article_fd064f16-335e-54c4-9e89-c149b7b75a13.html
Gary, IN, is in the greater Chicago metro area, so costs there being on par with Chicago doesn’t surprise me. I’m also pretty sure construction in CA is substantially more expensive than the national norm.
FWIW: $100 per square foot construction cost equates to $80k per 800 square foot apartment – and 800 sq ft is a BIG one-bedroom apartment. Doubling that seems reasonable to account for commercial building codes, etc . . . , and puts the cost per unit at $160k each. That’s a bit over half the cost paid for each of these apartments. And, as was observed above, apparently the land was donated.
The cost here works out to roughly $400/sq ft. That’s obscenely high IMO, regardless of location – especially if the land cost was indeed zero. (For comparison, that’s equivalent to paying $1M to build a 2500 sq ft house – on land you already own.) But since we’re talking about paying with “OPM” (other people’s money), apparently no one gives a damn.
Sounds to me like someone is getting fat at taxpayer expense – and no one monitoring the project for the taxpayer is asking any hard questions. Or maybe they’re getting fat too.
Annnnnnd, the owners more than likely have ridiculous tax credits, which of course they cashed out already….
As Hondo said, OPM.
We’re on the same page, Hondo. FWIW, the $100 sq/ft number is a base starting point for construction not including the cost of the land. What’s also true is that the sq/ft cost can vary based not only on locale, but also on the size of the structure. At least part of the reason is because of the difference between fixed fee and variable material/labor costs. Larger structures tend to be cheaper per sq/ft if materials used are equal. Kitchens, for example, are expensive; bedrooms are not.
I did the math, too, and then I realized that, hey, handicap accessibility don’t come cheap. Nothing’s too good for our vets.
I found a drone fly over of the construction. On the sign it reads 3-4 bedrooms. I think I read that there was only going to be a few (7-9) one bedroom units. The Veterans Village in Gary, IN seems like it was designed with homeless veterans in mind.
“Strings attached” = don’t want my money going to sinking veterans, but rather “insert politically correct absecure group” instead.
Classic Libtards.
I guess the name Cabrini Green was already taken?
Pimp-A-Vet Palace
What a joke, they could have bought them each a condo on the lake for that kind of money? How can we allow them to piss away this kind of money for nothing going to the vets who really need it? Someone should be in jail over this!
I don’t know that they could find 35 truly homeless Veterans anyway.
Yes, i was wondering about that. Every homeless veteran i have seen have always been a fake.
I don’t doubt there might be some, but i have not seen them personally.
It just PISSES. ME. OFF.
Someone explain to me how this scam is any different than some asshole claiming vet status for free shit at Applebee’s or whatever.
Other than the several zeros added on.
“We do have a vet preference, but we don’t have a guarantee for veterans.”
Veterans Village….
I guess the strings attached are for the meth addicts who need cheap housing. What a fucking disgrace.
Other names considered:
Methadone Municipality
Welfare Whereabouts
Leech Locale
Asshole Acres?
I wonder how many of those apartments will get handed to illegal aliens instead of Vets? The current administration places a higher priority on them than I does us.
Here’s a link to the government building separate quarters for transgender illegals. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/may/23/feds-build-separate-unit-transgender-illegal-immig/
I have good information that the brilliant veteran that the author quotes at the end of the article isn’t a Vietnam Veteran, nor is he from Virginia.
The nerve! Why, someone should do a FOIA inquiry on that guy!
(smile)
Must be a typo. They couldn’t even spell the poor fellow’s name correctly.
John, Jonn, Jon….
Maybe the newspaper is in cahoots with a recently disbarred attorney in order to generate grounds for another (feeble no chance of winning) lawsuit.
If I’m not mistaken, this property was probably redesignated under the auspices of the Affordable Housing Act.
(Rather, in order for some state or local gov’ts to be eligible for federal money, they have to set aside some units for low income residents).
It’s all part of social justice programs under this administration.
Any bets on what the place will look like in five years?
Ever visited beautiful downtown Huachuca City?
Donated land and units in excess of $300k?
It would have been cheaper to send the money to Texas and build a shit load more units at less per unit and still have money to buy the land….fucking idiots.
Veterans Village is no more accurate than Serenity Acres here in the PRoM. There are more police calls for Serenity Acres than any other housing unit in the city.
“There are more police calls….”
I misread that at first and had this vision of people picking up trash. Probably appropriate at a “Veteran’s Village”, but also probably unlikely. And I’m sure some judge will tell them they can’t fly any American or branch flags.
Hooker Hideaway
Hooker Hotel
Pimp Palace
Baby Momma Motel
Hood Rat Hotel
I can see into the future:
Window AC units have replaced central air b/c the copper keeps getting stolen
Urine soaked stairs and halls
Drug deals 24/7
Running gun battles to solve the most minor ‘disrespect’
A different gang claiming each floor/building
Abandoned cars
Chalk outlines
Take your pick or invent your own. Oh, and feel free to paint me with the ‘R’ word. That word is Realist. I’ve never seen an example of new, low income housing that wasn’t turned into a ghetto within 5-10 years. I suppose they must exist. Most of the people will be well intentioned, especially the plank owners, but then the slime moves in and it’s downhill from there. Once the decent people are afraid to live there, it turns into a dump.
And I hope I’m completely wrong.
Entitleville
Entitleville
Baby Momma Motel
Hood Rat Hotel
All excellent. Hat tip.
Cabrini Green Redux
Robert Taylor Homes Again
There are others, but they’ve all been torn down.
Meth Manor
If Hillary wins the VA will become the single payer system. Yet they will still keep the name “VA Healthcare” when 90% of the people using services aren’t veterans.
“I want to apply for healthcare.”
“Sure, I’ll need your DD214 for starters.”
“My what?”
“DD214. You were in the military, right? Which branch?”
“No. I was never in the military.”
“Sir, this is the VA. It’s for Veterans.”
“I heard that. Look, I was drafted but they wouldn’t take me, not after they found a gerbil in my ass and I told them I was gay.”
“I see. But the services now take gays.”
“I know, but I’m too old now.”
“Hmmm. So, because you would have served but were not permitted to do so, you want VA healthcare. Let me talk to my supervisor to see what we can do.”
Sir, we will absolutely grant you a waiver because having a gerbil in your ass and sucking cock should not have prohibited you from being drafted. We give you an “A” for effort buddy!
We have taken the pleasure of filling out the paperwork for you, Colonel Major of the Army Corp, here is your ID card.
We have also made you a DD214 just in case you would like to get some cool license plates for your caddy, bragging rights at the local American Legion or camp at a State Park. If you choose to award yourself any additional medals, please let us know so we can make you a DD215.
We apologize for this inconvenience and would like to offer you the opportunity to select the artwork to be displayed in the Denver VA (no $ limit) and for being such a trooper, we are putting you in a brand new pimped out apartment at Veterans Village just outside Chicago, the place that has the toughest gun laws so, you will be safe!
Thank you for your service Colonel Major of the Army Corp.
Or he can be sent to a disbarred disability lawer for further consultation at $300/hr and be promised at least a disability rating of 127% for the diagnosis of ‘chronic felchitis’, otherwise known in medical circles as QuEeFeRs SyNdRoMe.
Maybe the cost was high b/c each unit has artwork supplied by the VA. Either that or it’s a typical government fiasco. Maybe the tree huggers made them stop every few hours to do a bug hunt, looking for ‘endangered’ gnats and roaches.
Stopped reading at “Near Chicago…”
I knew at that point some form of fuckery would be involved.
Related-https://marathonpundit.blogspot.com/2016/08/photos-south-works-site-24-years-of.html?m=1
Chicago is all kinds of phucked.
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Got to pay the mob to get stuff done in Chi-town… that includes Rhambutt and his minions.
The same thing happened with the Minnesota Veteran’s Home in Hastings. There was a wonderful plan to build a large unit of apartments where Vets would be able to live independently, or with assistance from the home, on a sliding fee scale. The units were planned to be for VETERAN’S ONLY. And so, the area for construction was chosen, and the foundation was excavated. This being in a heavy sandstone area of the state, this required several weeks of jack hammering to clear. And then, the state legislature started talking about how they “didn’t know if it was appropriate to offer these fine accommodations to Veterans ONLY, because that might be considered discriminatory”. This despite the fact that the apartments would be located on the grounds of the MINNESOTA VETERAN’S HOME, that was already limited to VETERANS!
So, that great big foundation, a large, ugly scrape of ground; stood empty for 5 years with nothing being done!
Finally, funds were found to (and who didn’t see THIS coming) FILL IN THE HOLE!
So, the entire hillside that had been removed, was rebuilt, re-sodded, had saplings planted, and a parking area put in.
Tell me that wasn’t a GOVERNMENT OPERATION.
How do I know all of this? I was living there at the time and was an eyewitness.