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AUSTIN WEEKLY news ■
FORMER NFL PLAYERS UNITE TO CLEAN UP HUBBARD PARK,
Vol. 30 No. 48
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December 7, 2016
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austinweeklynews.com
@AustinWeeklyChi
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Also serving Garfield Park
PAGE 9
Meet Bethany Stannard, page 3
Business incubator planned for Garfield Park The Hatchery could break ground in 2017 if all goes according to plan By IGOR STUDENKOV Contributing Reporter
The plan to build a business incubator for restaurateurs, caterers and other food-related businesses on a vacant lot south of the Kedzie/Lake Green Line ‘L’ station cleared its first legal hurdle on Nov. 29 at a city zoning committee meeting, where a potential community benefits agreement for the project was discussed. The Hatchery is a joint project by the nonprofit Accion Chicago and the Industrial Council of Northwest Chicago. Once built, it would have kitchens of various sizes, as well as communal kitchens. As Mary Fran Riley, Accion’s senior vice president of external affairs, explained to this newspaper, this would allow entrepreneurs to launch their businesses while saving on start-up costs by taking advantage of the Hatchery’s equipment. In order to get the project off the ground, the lot would need to be rezoned to C1-3 Commercial and Manufacturing District. The application cleared the Chicago City Council Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and BuildSee HATCHERY on page 10
WILLIAM CAMARGO/Staff Photographer
EDIFYING MOVEMENT: Praise dancers express themselves during the West Side Business Network’s Dec. 1 holiday party held at the Columbus Park Refectory in Austin. See more on page 4.
N. Lawndale industrial campus moving forward The project could create over 300 jobs says West Side alderman By IGOR STUDENKOV Contributing Reporter
The project that would establish an industrial and retail campus on a 21-acre lot near the Roosevelt Road/Kostner Avenue intersection is getting closer to reality.
The zoning change the developers requested cleared the Chicago City Council Committee on Zoning, Landmarks and Building Standards on Nov. 29. Ald. Michael Scott (24th) said that he expects the change to go before the full City Council sometime this month and for the development agreement to be voted on in January. Once that happens, there will be another round of public hearings to get further community input on what they would like to see on the site. The project, currently known as Clarius Park–Chicago Westside [sic] is a brainchild
of Clarius Partners LLC, a Chicago-based commercial and industrial developer. It would be built on a land that stretches between Roosevelt Road, Kostner Avenue, 5th Avenue and Kildare Avenue The north half of the lot will have three industrial buildings, and the south half will have three retail buildings. As previously reported by Austin Weekly News, the company co-owner, Kevin Matzke, stated that a lot this size gives them a See INDUSTRIAL CAMPUS on page 4
Austin Chamber of Commerce on the move... 773.854.5848 • www.austinchicagochamber.com