Sunset Village Becomes “Shining Star”

Glenview’s Sunset Village was, not so long ago, considered a disaster, but families are now clamoring to get in.

CHICAGO—The North Shore may seem an unlikely place to find a manufactured housing community, but suburban Glenview’s Sunset Village is now thriving after a new owner poured millions into a renovation. It provides hundreds of families with affordable places to live, a rare commodity in many of the region’s affluent towns, and illustrates the robust demand for manufactured housing.       

Built in 1951, the community had fallen on hard times in the aftermath of the recession, as an undercapitalized owner found it impossible to make needed infrastructure repairs. The community was frequently written up in the local press and described as something like a disaster zone, and many wondered if it was on the verge of demolition. Municipal officials, however, were determined to save Sunset Village and looked for a buyer with the proper expertise.