It’s always been clear that the dollar figures in Mayor Lightfoot’s administration’s INVEST South/West talking points was a combination of existing city-funded projects and future projects to be funded by city and non-city funded sources.
Now I have a better idea of where the non-city funding comes from.
In November 2021, Lightfoot announced the two-year anniversary of ISW and said it “generated $1.4 billion in investment commitments to date”.
Here’s how they get to $1.4 billion:
- $525 million in city investments
- $300 million in the RFP projects in the ISW corridors (mostly mixed-use with an affordable housing component)
- And $575 million in “corporate and philanthropic commitments”
It’s the last funding source, of “corporate and philanthropic commitments”, that I was most interested in, so I asked the Chicago Department of Planning & Development to break that down. The breakdown follows:
- Over $200 million in commitments towards housing and small business support from Community Investment Corporation (CIC) and JP Morgan Chase
- ~$95 million in project costs for Amazon distribution centers in Humboldt Park and Pullman
- ~$33 million in investment towards the new Southside Discover (the credit card company) call center
- $20 million commitment by Fifth Third Bank towards the South Chicago community
- $20 million from Fifth Third Bank for opportunity zone investments in ISW neighborhoods
- $12.25 million towards the Reclaiming Chicago housing initiative in North Lawndale
- $10 million from Pritzker Traubert for the Chicago Prize winner on the Auburn Gresham corridor
- Over $2 million for the Pre-Development Fund launched by the Chicago Community Trust for minority developers involved in ISW RFPs or Chicago Prize finalists
- ~$8 million in capital from the Entrepreneurs of Color Fund
- $10 million committed from Starbucks for small businesses in ISW neighborhoods
- $10 million committed to United Way from BMO Harris Bank in Austin community