CHICAGO (WLS) — Four projects aim to bring business and investment into communities of color.
One of them will get a $10 million prize.
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A building on Cottage Grove Avenue and 43rd Street has seen better days.
But some want to make it part of a thriving Bronzeville business community.
It’s among the spaces that the Cottage Grove Collective hopes to make ready for retailers and services.
A vacant lot at 1000 E. 43rd St. would be space for several businesses, under the Collective’s plan.
“We must transform the empty lots and abandoned buildings into retail areas where people can come together,” stated Rhonda McFarland of the Cottage Grove Collective and Quad Communities Development Corporation.
The Collective is among four finalists for the “Chicago Prize”: $10 million over five years from the Pritzker Traubert Foundation.
On Wednesday, the four presented their projects at City Club of Chicago.
“In several underfunded areas, this initiative is crucial for providing residents a chance to achieve economic progress and for the community to build generational wealth,” explained Kareeshma Ali from the Pritzker Traubert Foundation.
In Bronzeville, the Collective aims to create more local opportunities for residents to access necessities, ensuring that money circulates within the community rather than being spent outside.
“We are looking to reduce that retail leakage that we know leaves our community. We are looking to increase our tax base; some of those tax dollars come directly to our corridor’s special programming,” McFarland said.
The winner of the $10 million prize will be announced in the fall. The remaining finalist will also have access to matching funds, with the goal to bring more to the communities they serve.
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