Update: The housing investment tool was approved in May 2012.
The South Suburban Mayors and Managers Association (SSMMA) through its Chicago Southland Housing and Community Development Collaborative (Collaborative) and partner organization the Chicago Southland Economic Development Corporation (CSEDC),work together on planning initiatives in Chicago's southern suburbs. SSMMA provides technical transportation, housing, economic growth, and development assistance to 42 municipalities in the southern suburbs of Chicago. The CSEDC focuses on economic development and growth and the Collaborative concentrates on regional housing issues and development in the Southland.
Part of the Collaborative's responsibilities is to apply for and distribute public and private funding for housing investment. For example, the Collaborative will apply and be rewarded funding made available from HUD for rehabilitation, construction or demolition of housing projects. To help evaluate and prioritize proposed projects, the Collaborative sought the assistance of the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning Local Technical Assistance (LTA) program to create a multifunctional evaluation tool that would prioritize projects and serve as a guide in rewarding funding. In June 2011, CMAP's LTA Program partnered with SSMMA and the Collaborative to create such a tool, called the Housing Investment Tool (HIT). The tool was approved by the Collaborative and SSMMA in May 2012.
Recently SSMMA brought the tool online, enabling all uses to analyze score, and rank potential developments. In June, 2013, the tool was one of four projects that was awarded the Illinois Open Technology Challenge . The tool is currently used by SSMMA and communities in the Southland.
View a summary of the tool.
