Efforts underway to revitalize naval station’s ‘zombie village’; ‘No one should be living in Halsey Village’
Source: CHICAGO TRIBUNE
Illinois U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth called it a “zombie village,” and Lake County Board Chair Sandy Hart suggested, “There is not a neighborhood in all of Lake County in a worse condition.”
They were referring to the privately managed Halsey Village at Naval Station Great Lakes, where approximately 70.5% of the houses are uninhabitable. Of those, 44 are fenced off in the southwest corner of the project near Green Bay and Buckley roads.
“The neighborhood has taken on the moniker of ‘zombie village’ given the great number of homes in various stages of neglect,” Duckworth said during a Senate committee hearing in May, quoting a letter she received from Hart.
“There is not a neighborhood in all of Lake County in worse condition than Halsey Village,” added Hart in a letter to Brent Norvik, the senior director of operations for Texas-based property manager Hunt Military Communities, which manages the project.
The U.S. Navy is working with Hunt Military Communities to regain control of the 74-acre property on Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago and possibly redevelop it.
Matt Mogle, the public affairs officer for Naval Station Great Lakes, said in an email Monday that Hunt is in its 19th year of a 50-year lease to manage Halsey Village. The Navy is trying to terminate that agreement.
“The Navy is working with Hunt Military Communities to amend the Public – Private Venture Housing Ground Lease and return Halsey Village to Navy control,” he said in the email.
The site of 352 houses, Mogle said only 78 are occupied. The majority of residents are non-military-affiliated civilians. Duckworth said at the May Committee on Armed Services meeting that civilians there are paying market rent.
North Chicago Mayor Leon Rockingham, Hart and Duckworth all see the redevelopment of Halsey Village as a potential location for affordable housing which the community needs for its growing workforce.
Recognizing multiple steps are required for the Navy to regain control of the property, and remediation may take years, Duckworth said in an email Monday that continued leasing of units is wrong.
“It is unacceptable that the Navy is renting housing units in Halsey Village to military families and Illinois residents knowing the conditions of these homes,” she said. “No one should be living in Halsey Village.”
Telling Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro during the May 16 committee meeting the deteriorating condition of Halsey Village has been a problem for several years during more than one administration, Duckworth made three demands.
Del Toro promised he would keep Duckworth and her staff informed of what the Navy is doing with the property, give her and her staff copies of any written plans and tour Halsey Village with her this summer.
“I understand the Navy is looking to develop Halsey Village once the buildings are demolished,” Duckworth said at the meeting. “I will remain laser-focused the interests of the community are respected and heard.”
U.S. Rep Brad Schneider, D-Highland Park, whose district includes Naval Station Great Lakes, said in an email Monday he has also been in touch with Navy officials multiple times to ensure that progress is made with Halsey Village.
“I am encouraged that the Navy is taking over responsibility for Halsey Village and is committed to working with (local officials) to bring conditions in the community up to a standard we expect for our military families and local residents,” Schneider said.
Rockingham said the Navy must do all remediation, including a thorough environmental review, before redevelopment plans are complete. Implementation cannot take place before there is an ecological green light, he said. He is also worried about the fenced area.
“It is an eyesore to have that green fencing there,” Rockingham said of the segregated houses. “You can get squatters there. We have to make sure the area is safe. Everything must be done before it is back on the tax rolls.”
Attempts to reach Hunt Military Communities representatives were unsuccessful.
By: Steve Sadin
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