CHICAGO— Developers and Mayor Rahm Emanuel held a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday for the planned $45.6 million Shops and Lofts project here in the Bronzeville neighborhood.
The project, going up at 47th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue, includes a new five-story, 72-unit building with 55,000 sq. ft. of retail; two new six-flats; a new nine-flat; and a rehabilitated three-flat; along with parking for residents and visitors. A Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market will occupy most of the retail space, which is being developed by Skilken and TROY Enterprises. The Community Builders Inc. will develop the residential component, comprised of 44 affordable, 28 public housing and 24 market-rate apartments.
“Neighborhoods are the fabric of Chicago,” the mayor said in a statement. “Communities need anchors, and these ‘Shops and Lofts’ will create an important foundation for more jobs, more housing, and more goods and services along 47th Street and beyond.”
The city, state and federal government is investing millions of dollars in the project through various incentives, including $7.8 million from the Chicago Housing Authority, $13 million in tax increment financing and $3.3 million in New Markets Tax Credit equity. In total, the city is collectively leveraging $330 million in public funding with $2.6 billion in private funding for new economic development, housing, and quality of life improvements for residents and businesses in these seven areas.
In addition to the Shops and Lofts project, the nearly $1 billion in goals for Bronzeville include the entertainment-oriented revitalization of the Motor Row Historic District along South Michigan Avenue; and continued support for mixed-use redevelopment projects on 47th Street, such as the pending rehabilitation of Rosenwald Apartments and Bronzeville Artists’ Lofts.