Forest Park House Could Be Razed in 2014 with Federal Funds

A dilapidated house on Des Plaines that figures in the village's guide for future development could be razed in 2014 with federal grant dollars, village officials said.

Tearing down 512 Des Plaines Ave., however, is contingent on whether funds are available through the Community Development Block Grant program, Village Administrator Tim Gillian said.

Water main replacement on the 400 and 500 blocks of Ferdinand and Beloit avenues also are on the table for 2014, he added.

Discussion of 512 Des Plaines came up during a public hearing Monday that laid out how the village intended to use CDBG funds, which are administered through Cook County.

Forest Park in the past has received as much as $150,000 in CDBG money and has used it to for, among other things, repairing alleys. Next year, the alley in the 7400 block of Warren Avenue will be redone.

Communities use CDBG money, funded by the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development, to, among other things, prevent or eliminate slums or blight. The funds must benefit low to moderate income areas in a community.

Forest Park must apply to Cook County for the funds and specify 18 months in advance what they plan to do with it. Cook County distributes the money based on a federal formula, according to HUD rules. 

The home, across the street from village hall, was destroyed in an arson fire in 2010. The village has looked to include the use of that land and property at Altenheim as part of a community survey that will help guide development of the comprehensive plan.

A contract to do the comphrehensive plan - a document that determines a town's goals and aspirations in terms of community planning - is expected to be approved soon. A survey that will be sent out to all residents early next year will include questions about Altenheim and 512 Plaines.

Other sources of funding to raze the house have not yet been found but village officials continue to look for those resources, Gillian added.