By Mallory Mankin, Staff Writer
The Wheaton City Council approved a proposal from the Midwest Shelter for Homeless Veterans (MHSV) on March 2, 2026, to construct a four-story housing facility for homeless veterans and their families. The building will provide 20 apartment units for veterans in DuPage County, bringing the county’s homelessness rate to functional zero.
The project, Hero Homes, will occupy the vacant space on South Main Street and West Willow next to Wheaton Meat Co. Funding for the construction primarily comes from the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA), which has committed $10.1 million, or 90% of the project costs. The other 10% comes from grants, fundraising and donations.
MHSV hopes to break ground on this project in fall 2026, have one year of construction and begin offering leases in fall 2027. Hero Homes will lead the development with its core conviction at the forefront.
Rizik Mohammad, the deputy executive director of MHSV, said Hero Homes will offer a “holistic approach” to the veteran homelessness problem. The community-oriented housing unit will provide a variety of benefits — clinical aid and employment services — to target at-risk and low-income veterans in DuPage County.
“All of our programs that we focus on are not just giving our veterans a handout,” Mohammad said. “It is really a hand up.”
The program will have funding for at least the next 30 years, as MHSV has secured federal government-sponsored project-based vouchers, which attach rental subsidies to nonprofits rather than to the tenant. After that period, MHSV will need to reapply for federal vouchers or secure alternative funding.
Councilman-at-Large Bradley Clousing said that it is hard to secure these types of vouchers for this extended timeline.
“The fact that there’s funding there for the veterans for 30 years, to maintain the economic stability of it, is just a great thing,” he said.
Hero Homes could bring DuPage County’s homelessness rate to “functional zero,” meaning the homeless population has been reduced to a point in which the system can solve new homelessness cases as fast or faster than they occur. The metric evaluates the county’s ability to house the homeless, not the total number of individuals being housed.
After completion, the project would mark the first time DuPage County reaches that benchmark.
The original project design for the apartment units featured light gray and tan brick with metal railings and wood-like composite siding, an architecturally modern aesthetic. However, some neighbors and council members pushed back, noting that the design would clash with the historic architecture of Main Street. MHSV has accommodated this request, along with other tweaks suggested by the council. Yet, there were still concerns about the location of the new facility and its potential impacts on traffic and community structure.
Councilwoman Lynn Robbins, who serves the West District on the Wheaton City Council, voted against the project. She noted that Hero Homes would be one block from the Farewell Apartments, which offer 334 units, and the two near each other could cause problems.
“While I’m encouraged by the interest in revitalizing this vacant property south of the tracks, I am not encouraged by the prospect of increased congestion in the area,” she said.
However, others, including Wheaton Mayor Philip Suess, were vocally supportive of Hero Homes. Regardless of potential traffic congestion, they believe the project would benefit the city in a positive way.
“It’s addressing a need in our community with respect to veterans,” Suess said.
On March 2, 2026, the Wheaton City Council voted on the plan, after it had been evaluated by the Planning and Zoning Board earlier in the year. It was approved by the council’s 6-1 vote.
“No one that’s defended our home should go without a home,” Mohammad said.
