We are continually searching and identifying potential locations, developers, and sources of funding. Please email us if you have any input or suggestions about land, local needs, or potential opportunities. Quality and Supportive Housing have been a top priority since LCU was conceived in 2003.

Establishing Fairhaven - Quality Housing Building

Since 2014 the Lake County United Housing Team has met to formulate a plan for supportive housing so through our relationships we formed a strong development team. Together, we obtained financing, architectural services, site control, and began the process of working with the Village of Mundelein. The result was the plan for the development of a 40 unit apartment building.

We understand the excessive need for both individuals and families to find quality housing, therefore 20 of the 40 units have 3 bedrooms which expands options for larger families. Additionally, there will be a number of units set aside for people with disabilities. All units of the building will be affordable and integrated with different tiers of affordability. This complex will be on the edge of Mundelein's downtown revitalization, near transportation and jobs.

Lake County Center of Independent Living (LCCIL), a founding member of LCU were partners in this development and provide services such as, Independent Living Skills Training, Peer Mentoring, Employment Assistance, Advocacy Training, and more for this new housing complex. LCCIL’s mission has an emphasis on accessibility and independence, while also focused on empowering people with disabilities to lead self-directed lives as valued members of the community.

Also at the table making this possible were the developers, VeriGreen Development and Lake County Residential Development Corporation (LCRDC), also a member of LCU. VeriGreen, with principal Larry Pusateri, has completed almost two dozen special needs quality housing developments to date. LCRDC is a nonprofit quality housing developer in Lake County, with over 1,100 apartments developed during its 37-year existence.

Winchester House

The Lake County United member organizations provide hundreds of volunteer hours each year at Winchester House. For the past eight years, our leaders have worked with the Winchester House Advisory Board and the Lake County Board to find a way to sustain Winchester House and build a new home for the residence.

Due to our continued work, Winchester House is still open and serving 140 low-income elderly residents with high quality care, maintaining their dignity in ways that many other nursing homes do not. We are working to make sure that these residents and their needs are in the forefront of any decisions that are made regarding Winchester House.

Here is an update on current developments:

• The healthcare environment in Illinois is changing, with two major changes being the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the State’s transition to Managed Care.
• The ACA, Managed Care and other State and Federal funded agencies and/or programs (e.g. Illinois Department on Aging, Northeast Area Agency on Aging, Catholic Charities) seek to fulfill the same mission of Winchester House – providing access to care for those who may not be able to afford it.
• Consumer preference continues to show a desire to stay at home which means nursing home utilization will continue to decline due to economic constraints and as the State continues to search for lower cost options other than nursing home placement (e.g., home- and community- based services)

The Winchester House Advisory Board has spent much time researching and analyzing available data to determine the best available option to:

• Ensure high quality care future for current/future residents of Winchester House
• Provide for a new Winchester House - Current facility is outdated. Renovating existing facility or building a new facility would be extremely costly to tax payers.
• Be fiscally responsible to Lake County taxpayers

In the middle of last year, the Advisory Board recommended leasing the existing facility and operations to a private company. Leasing is different than previous action because the license to operate the facility, as well as the financial and regulatory responsibility will become the responsibility of the private company.
Following County Board approval of the Advisory Board’s recommendation in July 2014, a Request for Proposals seeking proposals from the private sector (not-for-profit or for-profit) to become the licensed operator with the future, firm commitment to provide for an acceptable replacement of Winchester House on property other than its current location

Following an extensive and exhaustive due diligence period, a review committee comprised of representatives from the Winchester House Advisory Board and several County Departments has developed a recommendation to award a lease agreement with Transitional Care Management of Rosemont, Illinois.
The lease agreement is a vital step towards providing the residents and staff currently at Winchester House with a new one.

Lakefront Residences of Grayslake

In November of 2012, Lake County United worked with Mercy Housing, who is now a member of LCU, to build a new 70-unit apartment building for seniors 55 years of age and older in Grayslake. Of these 70 units 25% are set aside for seniors with disabilities. The building known as Lakefront Housing is currently fully occupied with a lengthy waiting list.

Other Victories:

• Worked with the Lake County Board to boost the quality housing budget by 66% to $500,000
• Secured relocation assistance for displaced tenants at the Park Butterfield apartments in Mundelein
• Obtained a commitment from the Village of Libertyville to include 20% quality housing in its School Street redevelopment project
• Prevented displacement of 252 immigrant families from Northshore Estates apartment complex in Highwood when developers proposed turning the buildings into condominiums.