NEW DEVELOPMENT BREAKS GROUND ON INDUSTRIAL SITE IN NORTH LAWNDALE

By: Markayle Tolliver

NORTH LAWNDALE, CHICAGO| Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Deputy Mayor Samir Mayekar, other political officials, along with 548 Enterprise and Related Midwest, broke ground today at 4300 W. Roosevelt Road in North Lawndale as part of INVEST South/West, Lightfoot’s signature economic development program. This project will leverage the location’s strengths in freight and logistics, provide the area with an innovation center, and bring job opportunities to the community. The $68 million development project will consist of four new buildings, solar-powered industrial warehouses, two 5,000 square-feet community centers and a public park for community use.

“I’m thrilled to see this project get underway and deliver job opportunities and community gathering spaces to North Lawndale residents,” said Mayor Lightfoot.

This project received $8 million in TIF grants and the sale of 21 acres of City-owned land for $1 per lot. The event today featured local and city-wide past and present politicians, a solar panel demonstration, local North Lawndale restaurants, and local musical artist Bianca Shaw.

Mayor Lightfoot said, “…we are creating visible enhancements … that have been denied resources for far too long, and this project is no different. Not only will this project revitalize its surrounding area, it will also advance innovation throughout our city.”

The neighborhood park will adjoin the innovation center buildings and is designed to support activities such as markets, food trucks and pop-up stands. The landscaping plan by Site Design Group (MBE) aims to reintroduce native biodiversity through replanting historic ground species.AJ Patton, CEO of 548 Enterprise said, “Being able to deliver this combination of benefits to the community—particularly on a site that has been the source of so many challenges for the community in the past—is what drove me to do this work, and I’m thrilled to be a partner on this one-of-a-kind project.”

In the past, this industrial corridor (Roosevelt/Cicero) was occupied by a Copenhagen snuff plant and other industrial users before being cleared in the 1980s-90s. In the 90s, the site was a source of controversy when various aldermen took bribes to allow illegal dumping of hazardous materials on the land, and it created dangerous conditions for nearby residents and also led to an FBI probe.

“To turn a vacant lot with such a dark history into a valuable, opportunity-generating site for North Lawndale is incredible,” said Pastor John Harrell, CEO of Black Men United.

To design the new buildings, 548 Enterprise and Related Midwest worked with Lamar Johnson Collaborative, a full-service Chicago-based design and architecture firm for the design of the innovation centers.

“The construction of this project at Roosevelt and Kostner is a game changer for the North Lawndale community,” said Ald. Monique Scott (24th). “I’m proud that it balances the need for good-paying jobs in an in-demand industry with the services that our community needs to start fresh on this site and build a bright future.”

 The project is expected to be completed in Fall 2024.