HRA director reflects on 2025, looks to future goals
The December meeting of the Cook County Housing Redevelopment Authority included plenty of discussion about what future efforts from the group will focus on.
The meeting included a presentation by Vacation Rental Administrator Andrew Beavers to share data he has compiled over the past several years about. The data focuses on how the rentals are dispersed across the county, and what amount of growth the industry has seen in recent years.
HRA Executive Director Jeff Brand told WTIP that having Beavers present the information to the HRA board was part of deepening their understanding of how housing needs in the county intersect with things like the vacation rental industry and second homes.
The HRA is hoping to collect some data of their own. At their meeting the day before, the Economic Development Authority approved a plan to partner with the HRA to fund a study on housing and care needs for the county’s aging residents. A study was conducted ten years ago, and this study would update that data and reflect the changing community.
Brand said the study is on a roughly six-month timeline, and he expects to see the end of phase one in June. From there, he said a second phase is possible that would include more community engagement with the aim of understanding how the data collected can be applied.
Beyond data collection, the board also discussed setting priorities for the coming year. Brand said he hopes to be able to address topics like zoning, taxation, opportunity zones, and second home ownership. “I would like for us to have a longer conversation about second homes and what they mean to tax base, what they mean to community, what they mean to county structure,” he said. “That’s not going to happen overnight. That’s going to be a long conversation. I’m willing to have that conversation.”
Reflecting back on 2025, while Brand identified the decision to end a contract with a developer slated to build homes in the West end as a step back, he said there was a lot of progress on housing this year. He cited the opening of Gunflint Vue and the construction progress on The Heights Bluffs as big steps for both housing generally, and for the HRA, which helped support those projects during development. With an apartment building open in Grand Marais, he said he has heard from employers who have said it was impactful on their ability to hire staff.
While 2025 may have seen some strides, Brand is focussed on what happens next. He said, “I’m excited 2026 is another year coming to us, and another opportunity for us to roll up our sleeves and to work together to see what we can accomplish.”
WTIP’s Kirsten Wisniewski spoke with HRA Executive Director Jeff Brand following the December HRA meeting. Audio of that interview is below.
Kirsten Wisniewski December 20, 2025
