Mayor Brandon Johnson Announces $42.5 Million in Grant Support for 56 Neighborhood Development Projects

Mayor Brandon Johnson Announces $42.5 Million in Grant Support for 56 Neighborhood Development Projects

A New City first responder training facility, a Dunning sports hall of fame and a Little Village community center are among dozens of neighborhood improvement projects selected to receive $42.5 million in City grant support, Mayor Brandon Johnson announced today.

"I am proud to congratulate the entrepreneurs and projects receiving well-deserved grant funding today as we work to ensure all of our communities have the resources they need to thrive," said Mayor Brandon Johnson. "Through these grants, we spur growth in our commercial corridors and neighborhoods, create jobs, and offer pathways to long-term economic stability for all our residents. We will continue to invest in Chicagoans through my $1.25 billion Housing and Economic Development Bond to drive equitable growth and opportunity across every neighborhood in our city."

Awarded through multiple competitive application processes led by the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) earlier this year, the projects collectively represent more than $148 million in community investments.

"These strategic investments will help build and renovate businesses and improve neighborhoods throughout Chicago," said DPD Commissioner Ciere Boatright. "The grants also represent direct investments in people through DPD's Workforce Solutions program that's now available citywide for the first time in the program's history."

The 12 largest projects were approved for Community Development Grants (CDG) between approximately $490,700 and $5 million, with funding provided through the Housing and Economic Development (HED) bond, Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund (NOF). The projects include:

433 Missionary NFP, 433 W. 119th St., West Pullman
$1.8 million to rehabilitate a fire-damaged building for use as three retail spaces and 10 affordable residences. Total project costs: $3.2 million.

5544 W. North Ave., Austin
$2.1 million to rehabilitate a vacant building to include 22 mixed-income residences and six commercial spaces for artists and arts organizations. Total project costs: $4.2 million.

Black Fire Brigade First Responder Training Academy, 1823 W. 47th St., New City
$3.9 million for a purpose-built headquarters for the not-for-profit organization including training space, classrooms and offices. Total project costs: $9 million.

Community Creation Center at the Chicago Urban League, 4510 S. Michigan Ave., Grand Boulevard
$490,714 to renovate a community center to include a training kitchen, production studio, pop-up retail and technology training lab. Total project costs: $981,428.

Floreciendo: La Villita Erie House Community Center, 2659 S. Kildare Ave., South Lawndale
$5 million for a 22,000-square-foot community center featuring a gymnasium, classrooms, art studios, community kitchen and green spaces. Total project costs: $21.5 million.

Grace's Furniture, 2616-18 N. Milwaukee Ave., Logan Square
$3 million to rehabilitate a vacant building into a four-story health club with ground-floor restaurant and café. Total project costs: $11 million.

Hoste, 1819-57 W. 16th St., Lower West Side
$4.8 million to expand a community venue to include event space, community soccer concept, kombucha production facility and bagel shop. Total project costs: $9.5 million.

MLK East: Arts, Enterprise & Community Hub, 1600 S. Lawndale Ave., North Lawndale
$4.7 million to redevelop a vacant building as a business, arts and cultural hub with a restaurant, chocolatier and gallery, among other tenants. Total project costs: $12.1 million.

National Museum of Mexican Art, 1852 W. 19th St., Lower West Side
$1.4 million to renovate performing arts spaces. Total project costs: $4.2 million.

PRAA Cultural Campus, 3000-06 N. Elbridge Ave., Avondale
$1.3 million to expand the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance campus and renovate the existing building. Total project costs: $3.9 million.

PrimeCare Hermosa, 4528-38 W. Fullerton Ave., Hermosa
$5 million for a planned 27,000-square-foot community health center featuring exam and procedure rooms, a pharmacy and an infusion center. Total project costs: $21.8 million.

West Town Bikes and Ciclo Urbano, 2459 W. Division St., West Town
$2.5 million for expanded workforce development space and teen bike-building programs. Total project costs: $5.6 million.

Twenty projects were selected to receive CDG support ranging from approximately $60,000 to $250,000, with funding provided through the HED bond. The projects and grant awards include:

• A House in Austin, 533 N. Pine Ave., Austin, $115,085
• Annapurna, 899 S. Plymouth Court, Loop, $250,000
• Avant Wellness, 2011 W. Grand Ave., West Town, $250,000
• Chicago Eats Pancake & Waffle House, 4100 W. Madison St., West Garfield Park, $250,000
• Chicago Playborhood, 4684 N. Elston Ave., Irving Park, $71,325
• Elegant Flowers, 3504 W. 47th St., Brighton Park, $147,675
• Haitian American Museum of Chicago, 4623 N. Clark St., Uptown, $250,000
• Little Black Pearl Workshop, 1060 E. 47th St., Kenwood, $250,000
• Little Leaders Academy 2, 6347 S. Kedzie Ave., Chicago Lawn, $81,925
• Miss Ollie's Market, 1070 W. Berwyn Ave., Edgewater, $205,342
• Moochie's Pizzeria, 4212 W. Madison St., West Garfield Park, $250,000
• National Italian-American Sports Hall of Fame Museum, 3417 N. Harlem Ave., Dunning, $250,000
• Quantum LEEP Academy, 1447 W. Montrose Ave., Lake View, $250,000
• Salon Spice Beauty Bar and Boutique, 7045 S. Jeffery Blvd., South Shore, $207,556
• Soccer House, 501 N. Ogden Ave., West Town, $250,000
• South Side Sanctuary, 4702 S. King Drive, Grand Boulevard, $194,640
• Terra Coffee, 3341 W. Belmont Ave., Avondale, $124,081
• The Afterlife Bar and Restaurant, 3601 W. Diversey Ave., Logan Square, $250,000
• The Print Lounge, 4727 S. Wabash Ave., Grand Boulevard, $250,000
• Worthy Salon, 4823 W. Irving Park Road, Portage Park, $130,462

Twenty employee training grants ranging from $23,256 to $250,000 were announced through DPD's Workforce Solution program, which recently expanded citywide.

Funded through the HED bond and TIF and collectively valued at more than $2 million, the grants will fund the entirety of training costs for approximately 425 incumbent workers and new hires. The projects include:

• AGB Institute, 2445 W. 71st St., Chicago Lawn, $199,715
• Bang Salon 4 LLC, 1259 N. Milwaukee Ave., West Town. $42,724
• Clean Community, 5213 W. Potomac Ave., Austin, $116,290
• CRE8 Space, 1955 E. 71st St., South Shore, $36,591
• Empowered Construction Workers Assoc. Local 2, 7330 S. Ridgeland Ave., South Shore, $250,000
• Esperanza Community Services, 520 N. Marshfield Ave., West Town, $223,840
• Excel Community Development Corp., 4825 W. Chicago Ave., Austin, $92,106
• Genesus Construction Training Center Inc., 1407 W. 100th Place, Washington Heights, $94,944
• Great Chicken & Hoagies, 9200 S. Cottage Grove Ave., Chatham, $45,757
• Halsted Auto Center LLC, 5759 S. Halsted St., Englewood, $23,256
• Human Resource Development Institute, 33 E. 114th St., Roseland, $117,630
• Lakeside Community, 7418 S. Cottage Grove Ave., Greater Grand Crossing, $234,498
• Logan Parlor, 3251 W. Fullerton Ave., Logan Square, $63,205Million and One, 4802 N. Broadway, Uptown, $26,301
• New Moms, 5317 W. Chicago Ave., Austin, $37,332
• Nywele Salon, 222 E. 95th St., Roseland, $88,622
• Puerto Rican Cultural Center, 2531 W. Division St., West Town, $44,370
• Trilogy Inc., 2526 W. Armitage Ave., Logan Square, $82,110
• TXA TXA Club, 3268 W. Fullerton Ave., Logan Square, $59,568
• Virtue Hospitality Group, 1462 E. 53rd St., Hyde Park, $135,028

Four projects were selected to receive "pre-development" grants up to $150,000 to support eligible design and engineering fees, among other soft costs prior to construction. The projects are:

• Esperanza Behavioral Health & Community Services, 520 N. Marshfield Ave., West Town
• Full Circle Performing Arts Center, 9350 S. South Chicago Ave., Calumet Heights
• Living Fresh Marketplace @ Maple Park, 821 W. 115th St., West Pullman
• Phoenix Bean Relocation Project, 5535 N. Wolcott Ave., Lincoln Square

Awardees were selected based on project viability, applicant experience, neighborhood needs and other factors.

CDG and NOF applications are accepted on a rolling basis, with the next evaluation deadline occurring on Aug. 14. For more information, visit Chicago.gov/CDG and Chicago.gov/NOF. For more information on Workforce Solutions, visit Chicago.gov/WorkforceSolutions.

In May, Mayor Johnson and DPD announced 11 NOF awards totaling more than $2.1 million that will support a South Lawndale performance space, a Humboldt Park travel agency and an Austin karaoke venue, among other projects.

Since taking office in May 2023, Mayor Johnson has announced approximately $1.1 billion in City financial assistance for more than 875 projects valued at more than $4.9 billion.