History:
The Rock Island Housing Authority (RIHA), was founded in 1939, and in 1940, the construction of the first public housing project in the city began. By 2000, RIHA owned and managed 550 units of public housing and operated a Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program with 167 units of subsidized Section 8 housing. In total, it provided homes for seven hundred families – nearly 1,200 persons.
In 2003, RIHA developed a plan backed by definitive goals and measurable outcomes to completely redefine and reinvent public housing within the city of Rock Island. The RIHA Asset Management Plan clearly defined how the Agency intended to shift the organization’s vision, mission, purpose, policies, processes and philosophy toward the development of affordable mixed-income housing that included households with varying incomes while also providing quality housing options for the City’s most vulnerable residents. In accordance with the plan, RIHA demolished 204 units of obsolete public housing, constructed 232 units of new mixed-income for sale and rental homes, and renovated an additional 141 units of housing plus expanded the HCV program. In total, the organization has invested over $70 million in Rock Island neighborhoods impacting the lives of well over 2,000 citizens.
In 2019, the Agency began another chapter in its evolution as Community Home Partners (CHP). Community Home Partners is the managing entity of the Rock Island Housing Authority.
CHP provides housing to a broad-based market offering choices for all income levels, age groups and household sizes. Whether you are a single person just starting out, a young family establishing roots, or are an older adult wanting to downsize, CHP, is ready to welcome you home!
What We Believe:
Neighborhood revitalization initiatives create an infrastructure for families that encourages housing success and supports economic development. An adequate supply of high-quality housing has a positive effect on business investment and growth within the City and the surrounding Quad Cities community. By developing new neighborhoods based on transition and hope, CHP is taking an active role in impacting the quality of life for the entire region. Neighborhood revitalization is based on the notion that cities can-and should-be renewed for the sake of their residents. It eliminates obsolete housing and blight, increases the tax-base, and creates housing options and opportunities for a broad-base market. Neighborhood revitalization is more than building housing – it’s about rebuilding communities and the lives of the people living there.
CHP Mission:
CHP is committed to pursuing new and creative ways to meet the changing housing needs of the diverse population of the city of Rock Island and the surrounding Quad Cities community.
CHP Vision:
CHP meets the needs of the families and individuals living within the city of Rock Island and the surrounding Quad Cities region by providing them with more housing choices and more control over where they live. CHP promotes neighborhood revitalization that uplifts our communities and residents by providing them with the opportunity to improve their quality of life, increase their earned income, and if desired, the ability to pursue homeownership.
CHP Guiding Principles: