Chicago Construction News staff writer
The City of Evanston has been awarded $985,000 Innovative Finance and Asset Concession Grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. This competitive grant will be used to implement recommendations from the Putting Assets to Work (PAW) strategy, adopted by the city council last spring.
City staff will look for local, regional, and national expertise in real estate and urban planning to work on the PAW recommendations, which include an extensive community engagement process and market-driven revenue opportunities for Evanston taxpayers.
“The City of Evanston has ambitious goals in affordable housing, sustainability, and community development,” said Mayor Daniel Biss. “With this grant, we will now have the tools we need to utilize our assets effectively to realize these goals. I’m proud of this significant recognition of our innovative spirit and excited about what we’ll be able to accomplish.”
Over the last year, the city partnered with the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) and Urban 3 to conduct a comprehensive analysis was conducted to develop the PAW playbook, which comprises a set of recommendations.
City council’s 2024-2025 Council goals: fostering economic growth, increasing affordable housing, and assuring that assets are used to achieve CARP goals.
