The Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards 2021 by Suzanne Hanney / photos provided by LISC
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HE CHICAGO NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT AWARDS (CNDAs) of 2021 reflect the COVID-19 pandemic past and present, Executive Director Meghan Harte said at the June 2 event. “Some developments were created just in time to aid their community in time of stress, some to correct inequities. All were born out of a community vision.” This year’s theme, “Renewal,” is also significant, said Mayor Lori Lightfoot. ”I can’t think of a more perfect way to describe how each [winner] has impacted our community.” The CNDAs were established in 1985 to celebrate 77 of Chicago’s greatest assets – its neighborhoods – and the organizations that strengthen them, Lightfoot said. PostCOVID, this grassroots emphasis, “investing in residents through transformative projects so they can become agents of change in their own communities,” will be even more essential, she said. “The most important tool LISC brings is advocacy for the community that makes sure not only we as government are present, but listening. When we are listening to our people, we get closer to the essence of public service.”
Richard Driehaus
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Driehaus Museum
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Harte and the whole team at LISC, which sponsors the awards, had been partners with her team, Lightfoot said. “Your innovation and dedication has given us hope in our darkest days.”
The event also gave a tribute to Richard H. Driehaus, who died March 9 at age 78 and who in 1998 initiated the eponymous award for architectural excellence that has since honored 72 projects in neighborhoods – not downtown. Driehaus grew up on the Southwest Side, where at age 13 he began collecting coins and then investing in the stock market. He eventually became an investment manager and then started his own Driehaus Securities in 1979 and Driehaus Capital Management in 1982.
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“Richard’s vision and commitment to quality design for all Chicagoans has had an undeniable lasting impact on how community development real estate is considered and done in Chicago,” according to the program book. The CNDAs announced a yearlong celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Driehaus awards, with opportunities to tour the buildings and learning sessions with community partners and architects. Driehaus told the City Club of Chicago in 2016 that “In New York I’m just another successful guy,” according to The New York Times. “You can’t make an impact in New York. But in Chicago you can, because it’s big enough and it’s small enough and people actually get along enough.”
RICHARD H. DRIEHAUS FOUNDATION OUTSTANDING NON-PROFIT NEIGHBORHOOD REAL ESTATE PROJECT AWARD TO ESPERANZA HEALTH CENTERS Known informally as the BRIGHTON PARK (1)
“Oscars” of community development, the CNDAs annually attract more than 1,000 people for the presentations and networking afterward. Last year, Lightfoot said it was great to celebrate them virtually. This year, she said she was glad to come together online and in person for a hybrid event that included three COVID-safe watch parties at CNDA-winning venues. The in-person party was at the SALUD Center and virtual parties were at the North Side Lathrop Homes and the South Side 75th Street Boardwalk.
Accepting the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Outstanding Non-Profit Neighborhood Real Estate Project Award for the Esperanza Health Centers Brighton Park, Chief Operations Officer Carmen Vergara said that the building became “a hub for health care that not only became a medical home but allowed us to respond to the pandemic with testing, vaccinations and so much more.” Expected to serve 10,000 people, the building instead served 40,000 in its first year.
