Jason Hale reflects on recent funding wins and two years with the HRA

Jason Hale is hesitant to celebrate too early. But as he marks two years in his role as executive director of the Cook County Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA), he has to acknowledge the progress that the group has made on a slew of projects, as well as a couple of recent wins.

Project funding updates

A major announcement for Cook County was the Iron Range Resources & Rehabilitation (IRRR) board awarding $1.7 to projects put forward by the HRA and Economic Development Authority (EDA). Hale told WTIP that Cook County was the only county to apply for funding for more than one housing project, and that all three of the HRA’s applications received funding.

Since the applications were also based on local match funding, the awards from the IRRR make a huge impact on whether those planned projects come to fruition. Hale said that he appreciated the support that the HRA’s efforts have gotten. He told, “I feel really, really fortunate that there are people that want to build and invest in this community, when there are obviously other places they could do that are easier, honestly, cheaper, but the people really care about Cook County.”

In addition to the money awarded by the IRRR, the HRA will also receive Statewide Affordable Housing Aid (SAHA) funds. The state program allocates money to county governments for housing projects, and the Cook County Board of Commissioners voted on Apr. 9 to transfer those funds to the HRA. Hale explained that every other year the state program will calculate the exact amount of SAHA funds the county will get, but that this year that total was about $85,000.

The board voted to continue to transfer SAHA funds to the HRA each year until 2033. Hale said that while $85,000 alone is not a huge amount when it comes to housing, that in the longer term, SAHA funds would be helpful to the HRA. He said, “The real advantage here is to look forward several years.”

Looking forward

With funding in place, several housing projects are nearly ready to break ground. Hale said that construction on the Switchback Village apartments project, the first HRA project to get IRRR funding, should begin by the end of the month. Switchback Village received $500,000 in IRRR funding last year.

A collection of new building projects are poised to begin, and while Hale said that he’ll feel ready to celebrate when there is “sticks and bricks” progress, he does want to recognize how far the current slate of HRA-involved projects have come. He said that over the past two years he has been struck by how much Cook County residents care about housing. He said, “I feel really good about the ability of the community to recognize that this is a priority worth really digging into and showing up for with resources and with support.”

WTIP’s Kirsten Wisniewski spoke with HRA Executive Director Jason Hale about housing project updates, and what the group has accomplished during his two years at the helm. Audio from that interview is below.

Kirsten Wisniewski April 15, 2024