The new Loyola University
Chicago (LUC) University Assisted Housing program, launched on March 1, 2008, provides financial assistance to faculty
and staff to buy homes in any of the community areas along the Chicago
Transit Authority Red Line, from the
Loop to Rogers Park. The program encourages employees to
take transit to work (if not walk or bike), and tiers the
amount of aid based on the location of the new home and income of the family.
"Building on our commitment to
the Rogers Park neighborhood, the university recognizes that the Red Line has
always been a critical part of our campus," said Jennifer Clark, LUC's director
of community relations. "While we will continue to provide extra incentives for
people to invest in the local neighborhood, this makes tremendous sense for us
to encourage employees to live along the public transportation line that will
bring them to work.”
Rogers Park Community
Development Corporation, a REACH
Illinois
partner, is providing housing
counseling services to LUC employees who participate in the program.
According to
Robin Snyderman, MPC's vice president of community development, “Today’s housing
market underscores the value of the basic employer-assisted housing model that Loyola has embraced. The employer’s
investment coupled with homebuyer education and counseling services provided by
Rogers Park CDC will help university employees make
better homebuying decisions.” She added, “We applaud LUC for creating an
innovative program that encourages neighborhood reinvestment and
promotes the use of public transit.”
“The UAH
program is a tremendous
opportunity for the university, the employees, and the communities surrounding our
campus” said Thomas M. Kelly, vice president of human resources for
LUC.