Any grants paid hereunder to a housing authority shall be deposited in a separate fund and, subject to the approval of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, may be used for any or all of the following purposes as the needs of the community may require: the acquisition of land by purchase, gift or condemnation and the improvement thereof, the purchase and installation of temporary housing facilities, the construction of housing units for rent or sale to veterans, the families of deceased servicemen, and for persons and families who by reason of overcrowded housing conditions or displacement by eviction, fires or other calamities, or slum clearance or other private or public project involving relocation, are in urgent need of safe and sanitary housing, the making of grants in connection with the sale or lease of real property as provided in the following paragraph of this section, and for any and all purposes authorized by the “Housing Authorities Act,” approved March 19, 1934, as amended, including administrative expenses of the housing authorities in relation to the aforesaid objectives, to the extent and for the purposes authorized and approved by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Each housing authority is vested with power to exercise the right of eminent domain for the purposes authorized by this Act. Condemnation proceedings instituted by any such authority shall be in all respects in the manner provided for the exercise of the right of eminent domain under the Eminent Domain Act.
     In addition to the foregoing, and for the purpose of facilitating the development and construction of housing, housing authorities may, with the approval of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, enter into contracts and agreements for the sale or lease of real property acquired by the Authority through the use of the grant hereunder, and may sell or lease such property to (1) housing corporations operating under “An Act in relation to housing,” approved July 12, 1933, as amended; (2) neighborhood redevelopment corporations operating under the “Neighborhood Redevelopment Corporation Law,” approved July 9, 1941; (3) insurance companies operating under Article VIII of the Illinois Insurance Code; (4) non-profit corporations organized for the purpose of constructing, managing and operating housing projects and the improvement of housing conditions, including the sale or rental of housing units to persons in need thereof; or (5) to any other individual, association or corporation, including bona fide housing cooperatives, desiring to engage in a development or redevelopment project. The term “corporation” as used in this section, means a corporation organized under the laws of this or any other state of the United States, or of any country, which may legally make investments in this State of the character herein prescribed, including foreign and alien insurance companies as defined in Section 2 of the “Illinois Insurance Code.” No sale or lease shall be made hereunder to any of the aforesaid corporations, associations or individuals unless a plan approved by the Authority has been presented by the purchaser or lessee for the development or redevelopment of such property, together with a bond, with satisfactory sureties, of not less than 10% of the cost of such development or redevelopment, conditioned upon the completion of such development or redevelopment; provided that the requirement of the bond may be waived by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity if it is satisfied of the financial ability of the purchaser or lessee to complete such development or redevelopment in accordance with the presented plan. To further assure that the real property so sold or leased shall be used in accordance with the plan, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity may require the purchaser or lessee to execute in writing such undertakings as the Department deems necessary to obligate such purchaser or lessee (1) to use the property for the purposes presented in the plan; (2) to commence and complete the building of the improvements designated in the plan within the periods of time that the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity fixes as reasonable, and (3) to comply with such other conditions as are necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act. Any such property may be sold pursuant to this section for any legal consideration in an amount to be approved by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. Subject to the approval of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, a housing authority may pay to any non-profit corporation of the character described in this section from grants made available from state funds, such sum of money which, when added to the value of the land so sold or leased to such non-profit corporation and the value of other assets of such non-profit corporation available for use in the project, will enable such non-profit corporation to obtain Federal Housing Administration insured construction mortgages. Any such authority may also sell, transfer, convey or assign to any such non-profit corporation any personal property, including building materials and supplies, as it deems necessary to facilitate the completion of the development or redevelopment by such non-profit corporation.
     If the area of operation of a housing authority includes a city, village or incorporated town having a population in excess of 500,000, as determined by the last preceding Federal Census, no real property or interest in real property shall be acquired in such municipality by the housing authority until such time as the housing authority has advised the governing body of such municipality of the description of the real property, or interest therein, proposed to be acquired, and the governing body of the municipality has approved the acquisition thereof by the housing authority.