For the second year in a row a Kennedy-King College student will have the opportunity to live in a free condo for the school year. Developer Mark Foreit of Foreit Properties LLC and Frank DeNovi of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage have teamed up to give away a luxury one-bedroom unit for the 2006-2007 school year. The winner will be selected based on their response to the essay question “How will your college education help you give back to your community?”
Foreit, who was born in the Washington Park neighborhood, is helping a local college student succeed academically by tearing down some of the obstacles they typically face.
“To transition from student to adult, there are multiple financial and personal hurdles to overcome,” says Foreit. “Providing a condo to a deserving student is a great way to start that transition.”
“We want to make homeownership a reality for this student,” says Foreit. “Half the battle of buying a home is the educational process behind the transaction. Living in this unit and understanding how ownership works builds upon the quality education they are already receiving at Kennedy-King by providing additional real-world experience.”
The condo is located in a newly reconstructed 19-unit development called The Courtyard at Grand Crossing, at 1462 E. 69th Street. This is the second year Foreit has offered the giveaway. In the spring of 2005, he created the contest for his Washington Park development in the spirit of Lorraine Hansberry, critically acclaimed author of “A Raisin in the Sun” who had lived there. Last year’s condo winner, Samantha Rowry, has excelled in classes this year and will graduate in May with a full time job. Her goal is to become a homeowner this year.
DeNovi, the condo development’s listing agent, is providing a laptop computer and color printer to the second prize winner and Coldwell Banker is providing the third place winner with a digital camera.
The deadline for essay and application submissions is April 15 and contest finalists will be interviewed by a panel of local community leaders to determine the winner, who will be announced in late May/early June. For additional information about the contest, including timeline and rules, and the development, visit www.ForeitProperties.com.