Commissioner Maurice Cox has announced that 15 mixed-use proposals for INVEST South/West opportunity sites are available for public review and comment on the Chicago Department of Planning and Development (DPD) website.
Each project is a response to a request for proposals issued by the DPD last year for strategic, commercial corridor sites in Bronzeville, Back of the Yards, North Lawndale and South Chicago.
“The RFPs were designed to revitalize strategic locations with mixed-use projects that foster community cohesion and vitality, build local wealth, and cater to other local needs,” Commissioner Cox said in a statement. “These 15 proposals represent a very strong developer response.”
The May meetings for each RFP site will be held online and include developer presentations and videos, followed by question-and-answer periods. Meeting times and dates, registration links and proposal summaries for the four RFP sites are available at the links below:
Back of the Yards/New City, 1515 W. 47th St.
6 p.m., Thursday, May 13 | Registration | Proposal summaries
Bronzeville, 449-51 E. 47th St.
6 p.m., Tuesday, May 18 | Registration | Proposal summaries
North Lawndale, 3400-18 W. Ogden Ave.
6 p.m., Wednesday, May 19 and 6 p.m., Thursday, May 20 | Registration | Proposal summaries
South Chicago, 8840-54 S. Commercial Ave.
6 p.m., Thursday, May 6 | Registration | Proposal summaries
After each meeting, the DPD will invite participants and interested parties to complete online surveys about each proposed project. The surveys will be referenced by a multi-departmental City of Chicago selection committee to help evaluate and select the winning project for each site later this spring. Selection criteria will include responsiveness to the goals of each RFP, developer experience and diversity, proposal viability, community wealth opportunities, and other considerations.
The winning selections will proceed through the city’s formal review and approval processes that may involve zoning, design, and development incentives that would be subject to additional community meetings and the City Council approval.
A new round of INVEST South/West RFPs for targeted sites in Humboldt Park, Roseland and South Shore will be issued by the DPD later this month. A previous round of RFPs for sites in Austin, Englewood and Auburn Gresham produced three winning selections valued at more than $65 million.
INVEST South/West is Mayor Lightfoot’s $750 million strategy to revitalize the commercial cores of 10 underserved community areas on the South and West Sides.
