Model co-op faces inquiry: Fair-housing law violations probed
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Somewhere along the line, federal housing officials say, the dream turned sour inside the Carmen-Marine Apartments. In 1993, the 27-story building overlooking Lake Michigan on Chicago’s North Side was hailed as a national model for affordable housing. Back then, tenants won a $23 million federal grant allowing them to buy the dilapidated building, fix it and run it as a cooperative for struggling families, making the Carmen-Marine the first of its kind in Uptown. In recent years, however, the building has been steeped in internal politics, with federal investigators looking into whether co-op board members violated fair housing laws by doling out choice apartments to family and friends. A U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development report obtained by the Tribune alleges, among other things, that a group of Eastern European residents who control the 300-unit building manipulated a waiting list to allow close relations to move in, while arbitrarily turning away qualified African-American applicants. “There are a number of concerns there,” including whether federal income restrictions at the Carmen-Marine are being met, said Ed Hinsberger, a Chicago-area HUD director. It is unclear what authority HUD has over the building, and since the federal money came as a one-time grant, the agency Source : accessmylibrary.com |