Business
Business
Announcement
We work with local partners, business owners, and residents to enhance streetscapes and encourage inclusive development.
Our business development efforts focus on the retention of local businesses and the redevelopment and revitalization of the neighborhood’s commercial corridors, targeting Kedzie Avenue, Madison Avenue, Pulaski Road and surrounding areas.
Business Development Objectives:
- RETENTION of our local businesses via direct services and capacity building workshops
- REDEVELOPMENT of commercial properties and corridors via streetscaping, catalyst projects and remodeling grants
- REVITALIZATION of retail commerce via stronger business networks, attraction of national and regional retailers, and community marketing
Our efforts along the Kedzie corridor have resulted in the Garfield Park Neighborhood Market, and a community benefits agreement with the food business incubator The Hatchery at Kedzie and Lake Avenues. Further south, GPCC is working with the developers of Garfield Green, a carbon-neutral housing and mixed retail project to be constructed at Kedzie and Madison. GPCC is working to develop additional green spaces for community events and beautification on the adjacent Fifth Avenue, designated one of the City of Chicago’s ‘Resilient Corridors.’
GPCC has expanded its efforts to include the Madison and Pulaski corridors in West Garfield Park. With other members of the Garfield Park Rite to Wellness Collaborative, GPCC is conducting planning for the Pulaski corridor. GPCC worked with a local community resident to conduct a walkability assessment and will work with an urban design firm to develop additional plans for the streetscape in the spring and summer of 2021.
Pulaski & Madison
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Residents and block club leaders have supported our maintenance efforts along Madison Avenue in East Garfield Park. More recently, GPCC has focused its efforts on the Madison Avenue and Pulaski Road area in West Garfield Park.
In 2019, GPCC worked with partners to develop a design for a wellness center in West Garfield Park to be presented at a design contest with the Urban Institute. The team’s design won its category, and the partners further developed the concept in 2020, forming the Garfield Park Rite to Wellness Collaborative (GPRWC).
GPRWC partners have been holding monthly virtual town hall meetings and launched the Rite to Wellness campaign. With the City of Chicago DPD, the Goldin Institute, and Studio Gang, GPRWC is now conducting a series of participatory design workshops to support streetscape developments along Pulaski and Madison.
During the summer of 2020, GPCC worked with the City of Chicago and Jason Ferguson and the GOlympians to conduct a walkability study along the Pulaski Road corridor. The walkability study will help inform the streetscape design along Madison and Pulaski.
Kedzie & Lake
GPCC began working along the Kedzie corridor in 2012. GPCC supports continued investment in viable local businesses while engaging residents in the development process.
Our efforts along the Kedzie corridor have included pop-up events and beautification projects near the Kedzie and Lake intersection, including a mural at 111 N. Kedzie and island gardens, planters and hanging baskets. Gardeners developed a volunteer-led farmers market at the Lake and Kedzie intersection, which became an official City of Chicago farmers market in 2015.
While the Neighborhood Market began to attract more vendors, GPCC worked with the developers of a new food incubator, The Hatchery, to develop a community benefits agreement to ensure that the Neighborhood Market and West Side residents have access to resources at the new facility. The Garfield Park Neighborhood Market is now located on the plaza of The Hatchery during the summer months, with pop-up events held inside the facility throughout the season.
Fifth Avenue Resilient Corridor
Since 2018, GPCC has engaged residents around development of a portion of Fifth Avenue between Sacramento and Kedzie Avenues. The City of Chicago designated this corridor as one of the city’s “Resilient Corridors.” Possessing several vacant lots and located in an area with frequent flooding concerns, the Fifth Avenue corridor is poised for green stormwater infrastructure installation and open space improvements that will mitigate the negative impacts of climate change in the city.
Two of the primary projects include the development of the Garfield Park Community Eco-Orchard and the C40 ‘Garfield Green’ development, led by Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH).
The Garfield Park Community Eco-Orchard received financial support in the amount of $500,000 from the City of Chicago for construction and development costs, and matching support for the design and construction through the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD). Phase 1 of the orchard installation is expected to develop the corner of Sacramento and Kedzie, installing a bioswale and cachements that will store up to 90,000 gallons of stormwater and planting 50 fruit and nut trees, berry bushes, and perennials. Another lot, located across the street, will offer an additional gathering space, including a nature play area developed with the West Side Nature Play Network.
Kedzie & Lake
GPCC began working along the Kedzie corridor in 2012. GPCC supports continued investment in viable local businesses while engaging residents in the development process.
Our efforts along the Kedzie corridor have included pop-up events and beautification projects near the Kedzie and Lake intersection, including a mural at 111 N. Kedzie and island gardens, planters and hanging baskets. Gardeners developed a volunteer-led farmers market at the Lake and Kedzie intersection, which became an official City of Chicago farmers market in 2015.
While the Neighborhood Market began to attract more vendors, GPCC worked with the developers of a new food incubator, The Hatchery, to develop a community benefits agreement to ensure that the Neighborhood Market and West Side residents have access to resources at the new facility. The Garfield Park Neighborhood Market is now located on the plaza of The Hatchery during the summer months, with pop-up events held inside the facility throughout the season.
Fifth Avenue Resilient Corridor
Since 2018, GPCC has engaged residents around development of a portion of Fifth Avenue between Sacramento and Kedzie Avenues. The City of Chicago designated this corridor as one of the city’s “Resilient Corridors.” Possessing several vacant lots and located in an area with frequent flooding concerns, the Fifth Avenue corridor is poised for green stormwater infrastructure installation and open space improvements that will mitigate the negative impacts of climate change in the city.
Two of the primary projects include the development of the Garfield Park Community Eco-Orchard and the C40 ‘Garfield Green’ development, led by Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH).
The Garfield Park Community Eco-Orchard received financial support in the amount of $500,000 from the City of Chicago for construction and development costs, and matching support for the design and construction through the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD). Phase 1 of the orchard installation is expected to develop the corner of Sacramento and Kedzie, installing a bioswale and cachements that will store up to 90,000 gallons of stormwater and planting 50 fruit and nut trees, berry bushes, and perennials. Another lot, located across the street, will offer an additional gathering space, including a nature play area developed with the West Side Nature Play Network.
