POAH OPENS CHICAGO OFFICE
Affordable Housing Mainstay Daniel Burke to Direct

CHICAGO, IL–One of Chicago’s best known and most experienced affordable housing developers, Daniel Burke, has been tapped to lead the long-awaited redevelopment of Grove Parc Plaza Apartments in Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood.

Burke has been named head of the Chicago area office of Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH), the Boston-based national housing preservation organization that is undertaking the redevelopment of the troubled 504 unit low-income housing development located on Cottage Grove Avenue between 61st and 63rd streets.

Led by Amy Anthony, Massachusetts’ former Secretary of Housing and Community Development, POAH is known nationally for its ability to structure innovative financing and close complex acquisitions which preserve long-term housing affordability for the elderly and disabled, working families and others priced out of the housing market.  POAH made its first Illinois purchase in Kankakee, successfully rescuing Crestview Village from bankruptcy and restoring it as a safe and affordable housing asset on behalf of its residents and the larger community.  POAH was invited to Chicago by tenants, housing advocates and community groups concerned that Grove Parc be redeveloped in a manner that would both preserve affordable housing in the Woodlawn area and transform the strategically located property into an engine for redevelopment south of 61st Street.

Burke, who has served as Vice President of Development for the Chicago Community Development Corporation (CCDC) since 1988, has extensive experience in affordable housing preservation, having been involved with the acquisition and rehabilitation of thousands of HUD-assisted properties in Illinois and Wisconsin over the past twenty years.

“I am thrilled to be a part of an organization that has already preserved more than 4,500 units of affordable rental housing across the nation,” Burke said.  “POAH is at the cutting edge of the housing preservation movement and has a creative and dynamic plan for Grove Parc Plaza that I think will promote further revitalization in Woodlawn.”

Burke will advance POAH’s work in Chicago along with Eden Hurd, an urban planner and developer who will serve as project manager for the Grove Parc property. Hurd has extensive experience in mixed income redevelopment; she served as Project Manager at Rockwell Gardens for East Lake Management & Development Corporation and as Acquisition and Finance Manager at NHS Redevelopment Corporation.  Hurd’s most recent work as Senior Business Developer at Fannie Mae dealt with the national disposition of foreclosed properties and their effect on local neighborhood stabilization, an issue which Grove Parc exemplifies.

“Dan Burke’s experience and Eden Hurd’s hands-on expertise are guaranteed to be assets to POAH’s efforts to advance the preservation of affordable housing in the Chicago area,” said Amy Anthony, President of POAH.  “This is the first time our organization has established a local office, which demonstrates clearly our commitment to and our excitement about the challenges of transforming Grove Parc.”

While final comprehensive redevelopment plans for Grove Parc are still being forged by the developers, the tenants, the City, HUD and area institutional and elected leaders, POAH’s property management affiliate, Preservation Housing Management, Inc., has taken the reins to ensure day-to-day stability.  The planning team aims to unveil a redevelopment plan, including both affordable and market rate housing as well as commercial development, sometime before year-end.

Contact Information:
The POAH Chicago office is located at 77 West Washington, Suite 1005, Chicago IL 60602. Daniel Burke can be reached at 312-283-0032. Eden Hurd can be reached at 312-283-0031. The fax number is 312-658-0666.