Our mission is to transform lives by providing diverse communities in Evanston with access to quality housing, and fostering a stable and inclusive environment for all.
Our Vision is to help create an inclusive Evanston where everyone has access to sustainable housing and community services, fostering a vibrant and diverse community.
Presentations
Over the years, we have given several presentations to our partners and supporters. If you’re interested in learning more about our projects or affordable housing in Evanston, please contact us.
Our Partners
Affordable housing is becoming increasingly scarce nationally and locally. With that in mind RPDC was created to develop affordable housing locally in Evanston. While we have developed 63 units of affordable housing in the areas we understand that we cannot go it alone. We have local and area partners working on similar goals. Please take a moment to explore who they are and what they do.
Our History
In the mid-1990s, as Evanston experienced rising property values, Reba Place Development was founded by members of Reba Place Fellowship and Reba Place Church to keep housing in Evanston more affordable for low-income residents. The Fellowship had been buying and reinvigorating distressed buildings, but additional grants and funding were needed to maintain and expand the vision, and so Reba Place Development Corporation was born with a new board and a wider base of neighborhood support.
The first opportunity for Reba Place Development came in 1995 when the 9th Ward Alderman approached RPDC concerning a distressed building at the corner of Custer and Monroe, asking for help. The building had been the origin of more than 100 emergency “911” calls within the past year, and residents and the community needed a transformation. The City offered a down-payment loan for RPDC to buy the building and “turn it around.”
RPDC set a clear vision from the beginning, calling the project the “House of Peace”, with the goal of unifying the residents through a co-op. The building was renovated one stack at a time; RPDC moved existing tentants out, renovated their units, and then moved them back in. Much of the work was done by hiring young people in the neighborhood, which gave them a stake in the project and resulted in a stong community effort to transform the building and make it a more neighborly living environment.
After the success of House of Peace, we extended our efforts to other distressed properties in the area. We developed a model that combined diverse funding sources - including city, state, and federal grants, as well as private donations - with strong community engagement since we live here and are invested in the relationships for the long haul.
Throughout our history, RPDC has maintained a consistent philosophy: community involvement is the key to solving housing challenges. By fostering strong neighborly relations and engaging residents in the care and management of their living spaces, we create safe, decent, and affordable housing solutions.
Today, RPDC continues to manage and care for our existing properties while actively pursuing new development opportunities that align with our mission of creating affordable, community-centered housing. With a reinvigorated board and vision, we're maintaining our existing properties and actively pursuing new development opportunities in Evanston.
David Janzen
FOUNDING MEMBER
David is a founding member of the Reba Place Development Corporation and has been an Evanston resident since moving into the Reba Place Fellowship neighborhood in 1984 with his wife and two children. He directed RPDC from its inception in 1996 until 2014. Prior to working with RPDC, David studied at Bethel College and Harvard Divinity School and earned an MA in history from the University of Kansas. He and his wife helped found New Creation Fellowship in Newton, Kansas before moving to Evanston. David is passionate about community building and advocacy and has spent time serving as Director and writer for the Nurturing Communities Network.