HRA Executive Director gives mid-summer update

Kirsten Wisniewski | July 29, 2025

The Cook County Housing Redevelopment Authority (HRA) has had a busy summer with progress on several ongoing housing projects, and navigating planning for the organization’s next steps.

The Heights

The HRA has been involved with two major apartment projects this year. Gunflint Vue opened for occupancy in the spring, and now, the Heights is expected to open by the end of the year. HRA Executive Director Jeff Brand gave WTIP an update on the Heights, a 36-unit building being developed by the Cook County Real Estate Fund (CCREF).

The HRA is providing subsidies to the CCREF for some of the units in the building to make them more accessible to those earning below the Area Median Income (AMI). At the July meeting the board discussed extending the parameters for which units could qualify for the subsidies, opting to include some of the larger units in that pool. Brand explained that the move aims to support families who might qualify, and would need a larger unit. “We were hoping to retain some families in our community that just need that assistance right now,” he said. “We want to make sure, you know, they’re staying in school, and the folks that are here working are able to continue to keep working in our community. We don’t want to lose workforce. We don’t want to lose kids.”

The Heights will be built using modular construction, meaning a lot of the building will take place off-site. The modules are currently being assembled in Detroit Lakes, and Brand said they are expected to be moved to Cook County soon. The HRA has a contract with the airport for storage of the finished modules as site-work is completed on the property. When the site is ready, Brand said construction will be a fast process. “At one point it’s going to be like watering a plant. It’s going to pop up overnight.”

Brand said the bulk of the building should be complete by the fall, and the developers expect to be open for occupancy by the end of 2025.

Temperance Trail

As the Heights moves ahead, another housing project in the county remains in limbo. Temperance Trail is a proposed 16-unit development of single family homes in Tofte. The developer behind the project is Peter Grubish, who has been part of the planning for several years. Earlier this year the HRA agreed to extend a contract with him, which gave him more time to both set a closing date for purchasing the property from the HRA, and for getting final plat approval from the county Planning Commission. The extension gave Grubish until July 31 to set a closing date with the HRA.

In May, questions were raised about Grubish’s company and legal complaints made against it related to non-payment or uncompleted labor on previous construction projects. The HRA board was made aware of those complaints, including cases that were unresolved at the time. As a result, part of their strategic planning conversation centered on how developers are vetted. The board did not move to terminate or change the existing contract with Grubish, but said that it would reevaluate based on whether he and his current company, Timberline Homes, was able to meet the July 31 date.

As the end of the month has neared, Brand said he reached out to Grubish’s lawyer, and in response he got a proposal for a different affordable housing project for that property. Brand said the board will have the option to consider that proposal at their next meeting. At this point, Brand said, they want to “keep all options on the table.”

“I will tell you, we are very patient when it comes to this, because we’ve been talking about this process for, I think, since 2023 and we’ve been extending it and extending again,” Brand said. ” The HRA really strongly believes that we want that housing to be constructed. And so if it happens to be that the development never gets off the ground with Timberline Homes, and it comes to be that we have to do a request for proposals with another organization, so be it.”

He added that the HRA still owns the property, so no developer plans are final, yet. “We will make sure that we sell it to the right person who wants to build the right kind of housing for that community,” Brand said.

Strategic planning

The HRA typically ends the calendar year with strategic planning, but based on the departure of former Executive Director Jason Hale at the end of 2024, and Brand’s subsequent hiring, they opted to move the process to this summer. The board began their strategic planning conversation during their June meeting, and completed it in July.

Brand said the HRA board has identified five central priorities to focus on over the next year. Those priorities are:

Assisted living and elder housing
Establishing a local housing trust fund
Explore options related to the Residential Open Space Overlay (ROSO) district
Support and incentivize efficient building and energy use
Create a county-wide housing plan

As the HRA looks to their next steps as an organization, the group’s frequent partner, the Economic Development Authority (EDA) remains in a transition phrase. Former EDA Executive Director Heidi Krampitz resigned from the role at the end of June. At the beginning of July the organization began working with North Shore Development Co. as the EDA navigates the leadership transition.

Brand said that even with the leadership change, the work done jointly by the EDA and HRA will continue. “I think of the EDA as a partner with the HRA,” Brand said. “I’ll be there working with them, however I can.”

WTIP’s Kirsten Wisniewski spoke with HRA Executive Director Jeff Brand. Audio of the interview is below.