COMMUNITY BLUEPRINT:
CCLF’S NEWSLETTER OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS, ISSUES & FEATURES 3rd Quarter/2013 In This Issue Mercy Housing Bestows its Partner in
Innovation Award to CCLF
Mercy Housing honored 19 partner organizations that participated in a concentrated community development effort in the Pullman community of Chicago. The Chicago Community Loan Fund was presented with one of the awards for creating or preserving healthy family housing through the renovation of Pullman Wheelworks and the rehab of historic townhomes in Pullman.
• Mercy Housing Award • LUCHA’s Borinquen Bella Blast • Genesis Housing and CCLF • Southland Community Development Fund • Oakwood Shores Opens
HB 3267 Becomes Law
Rob Rose, Vice President of Lending for CCLF, attended the signing of House Bill 3267, which gives Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs) throughout Illinois the opportunity to receive loan assistance from the Pictured: Bill Goldsmith, Mercy Portfolio Services; Illinois Department of Transportation. CCLF provided financial and Calvin Holmes, CCLF; and 9th Ward Alderman “This legislation will support jobs and knowledge transfer investments Anthony Beale encourage business growth in Illinois,” through the City of Chicago’s Governor Quinn said. “We are comNeighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) in Pullman. A total of thirteen single mitted to helping disadvantaged busifamily homes and small apartment buildings were financed by CCLF with the goal ness enterprises build capacity and of seeing home values stabilize and neighborhood decline prevented as blighted compete for economic opportunities.” buildings were refashioned into homes for families. Bill Goldsmith, President of Mercy Portfolio Services, presented the awards and stated, “On behalf of Mercy Housing, Anaerobic Digester Arrives it is an honor to recognize nineteen key partners who have demonstrated creativity, at the Plant undertaken substantial risks, and created new replicable development models.”
LUCHA Hosts Borinquen Bella Blast
CCLF borrower Latin United Community Housing Association (LUCHA) celebrated the completion of its Borinquen Bella apartment complex, which features 47 units that will provide affordable housing to over 150 tenants in the Humboldt Park community. “These properties are located in the 26th Ward, where rents increased 26 percent from $743 a month to $938 from 2000 to 2010,” said Professor Ralph Cintron from the University of Illinois (Cintron, Toro-Morn, Zambrana and Scott, 2012). He cited that 20% of families leaving the 26th Ward are being replaced by non-family households. Citywide, the average loss of family households was at 9%. “LUCHA is helping to keep those families here,” he affirmed. CCLF borrower The Plant was thrilled to see the arrival of its anaerobic digester system and combined heat Charlene Andreas, Acting Executive Director of LUCHA, stated, “Without predeand power turbines. CCLF provided velopment financing, Borinquen Bella would not have been able to attract the an equipment loan to purchase and funding needed to complete the project.” In 2008, CCLF made a predevelopment loan to LUCHA to help with emergency repairs while the rest of the financing was install the digester, which will convert assembled. “We are proud to be a supporter of these types of community projects waste from produce vendors and lothat preserve affordable housing,” said Rob Rose, CCLF’s Vice President of Lending. cal breweries to biogas that can be “As a predevelopment lender, we are so proud to see this project go from concep- used for heat and electricity creating a zero-sum outcome for the business. tion to completion and preserve affordable housing in Humboldt Park.”