After years of complaints about crumbling, boarded-up homes, a 90-acre stretch of former Navy housing in North Chicago is finally headed for a full teardown. The City of North Chicago and the U.S. Navy this week kicked off a long-awaited cleanup of Halsey Village, the former military housing neighborhood tucked next to Naval Station Great Lakes. At a July 13 groundbreaking, officials said contractors will demolish 351 vacant houses and prepare the land for future housing and commercial uses, pitching the move as a coordinated effort to wipe out blight and return valuable land to the community.
Agreements and ceremony
The city, Lake County and Naval Station Great Lakes marked newly signed Intergovernmental Support Agreements that leaders say are designed to streamline demolition and environmental remediation, according to the City of North Chicago. A Navy visual release from the July 13 event stressed that the IGSA model is being used to speed cleanup and recovery at Halsey Village and described the arrangement as the Navy’s first-ever use of an IGSA for environmental remediation, as reported by DVIDS.
Money and timeline
Lake County legislative records show the county approved an emergency appropriation of up to $11,379,000 for Phase I demolition and partial remediation under the IGSA, according to county documents. NAVFAC’s Mid-Atlantic workload projection lists the Halsey Village Demolition, Phase I contract (DE25-4901) with an estimated value between $25 million and $50 million, underscoring the size of the initial package. Local planning materials put the broader effort in the tens of millions of dollars, roughly $40 million or more, and the Chicago Tribune reported a roughly $50 million intergovernmental support package to finance the remediation work.
Officials say partnership will speed work
“This groundbreaking is a testament to the collaboration between Naval Station Great Lakes, the City of North Chicago, and Lake County,” Capt. Stephen Yargosz said, adding that the partnership is expected to shorten timelines and let contractors move more quickly, as quoted by the city. Senator Tammy Duckworth and Rep. Brad Schneider praised the cooperation at the event and pointed to sustained advocacy that kept federal attention on the troubled site. Lake County Board Chair Sandy Hart, who has been one of the most vocal critics of Halsey Village’s deteriorated conditions, said the agreement reflects years of work to get the property into shape for redevelopment.
Open canvas for redevelopment
City officials say that once the debris is gone, the land could support a mix of housing and commercial space, and Mayor Leon Rockingham Jr. described the parcel as “an open canvas” for future projects. Planners are quick to note that environmental testing, utility removal and lead and asbestos abatement have to come first. Firms involved in structuring the IGSA say the agreement creates the contracting pathway for a phased cleanup, including job-order contracting to handle demolition, waste removal and abatement work.
Next steps and what to watch
In the near term, Lake County will carry out job orders under the IGSA, while the Navy reimburses the county for specific services, according to county records. On the federal side, NAVFAC contracting activity tied to DE25-4901 will be the telltale sign that large-scale demolition is about to begin. Neighbors and would-be developers are being urged to keep an eye on upcoming county spending votes, public procurement notices and city planning meetings, where the first design proposals are expected to surface and start to define the long-term future of the Halsey Village site.
