The Chicago City Council today approved 10 ordinances supporting the expansion and improvement of new commercial and retail opportunities, affordable housing and sustainable community and economic development.

“We are working together to strengthen the economic vitality of Chicago,” Daley said. “We will continue to play a key role in the City’s economic development by supporting the development of viable neighborhoods with affordable housing for families and seniors and the expansion of employment and economic opportunities.”

3rd Ward Green Parade of Homes
The first ordinance authorizes the sale of 84 City-owned parcels to seven developers for the construction of the 3rd Ward Green Parade of Homes.

The parcels will provide the land needed to build a mix of 84 affordable and market-rate single-family homes in the City’s Grand Boulevard and New City communities.

The developers, Barron Development, LLC; Bronze Key, LLC; Click Development, LLC; The Green House Association, NFP; Greenline Development, Inc.; Habitat Development South, LLC and Johnson Development Group, LLC, plan to build the homes on the 3900 to 4900 blocks of South Calumet Ave., the 4500 to 4800 blocks of South Prairie Ave. and the 400 block of East 46th Pl.

All the homes will have at least three bedroom with1 ¾ baths and contain 1,100 square feet of space. Base prices on the homes will start at $195,000.

The new development will incorporate the latest in green design, featuring a broad spectrum of energy and resource-conservation elements to make the homes more environmentally friendly.

Commerce Clearing House
The next ordinance authorizes a plan to help support the renovation of property in the Peterson Pulaski Industrial Corridor with $5 million in TIF assistance.

Commerce Clearing House (CCH), located at 4025 West Peterson Avenue, will be upgraded into a more modern 220,000 square foot publishing facility with new building systems and office and production spaces.

The two-story building constructed in 1954 and has been occupied by CCH for 50 years. The rehabilitation of the property is expected to retain 460 jobs and create an additional 40 full-time jobs.

Under terms of the agreement, CCH will work to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification for the use of environmentally-friendly practices in it design, construction and operation.

Preserving Communities Together
Also approved was an ordinance allowing the transfer of vacant property located at 9442 South LaSalle Street in the City’s Roseland community to Janine Ingram under the Preserving Communities Together (PCT) program, an initiative designed to reclaim abandoned property for disposition to approved developers.

The developer will rehabilitate the single-family home in the 21st Ward, and it will then be sold to an owner/occupant at an affordable price.

Each year the program helps to reclaim and rehabilitate nearly a dozen buildings.

PCT enables interested applicants to identify vacant and abandoned properties for acquisition by the City turning them into quality housing operated by responsible private owners.

Enola A. Dew Senior Apartments
The next ordinance authorizes a loan agreement, the conveyance of one City-owned parcel and fee waivers for the construction of Enola A. Dew Senior Apartments, an $11.5 million development for low-income seniors.

The Section 202 Supportive Housing Development will receive much of its financing from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The 202 program helps finance the construction of affordable housing with supportive services for seniors.

The proposed 60-unit development will be built at 4603 West Gladys Avenue in the 24th Ward.

Enola A. Dew Senior Apartments will bring 59 one-bedroom apartments, complete with bathroom and kitchen facilities, at initial monthly rents from $411 and one two-bedroom manger’s unit.

The apartments in the five-story building will be available to seniors whose incomes are within 50 percent of area median income. Tenants will pay 30 percent of their income towards rent and HUD will pay the balance of the rent.

The main floor will contain a multi-purpose and conference room, a lounge area and office space.

Eligible seniors will receive personal care assistance, including help with medications, bathing and dressing. Laundry, housekeeping and transportation services, as well as social activities, will be provided.

The building will be developed by Housing Opportunities Mean Empowerment III, Inc.

The City will invest $2 million in loans towards the development.

Metropolis 39th & State, LLC
Another ordinance acknowledges the intent to issue up to $28 million in revenue bonds for the land acquisition and construction of a 123,000 square foot retail complex in the City’s Bronzeville community.

The developer, Metropolis 39th & State, LLC, plans to build the community shopping center at the southwest corner of State and 39th Streets in the 3rd Ward.

The development will be anchored by a supermarket with a drugstore, bank and other retail to be a part of the tenant mix. The retail complex will be convenient to shoppers from a wide area and is expected to draw customers from Bronzville and the surrounding communities.

MillerCoors LLC
This ordinance authorizes a redevelopment agreement with MillerCoors LLC and provides TIF assistance to help relocate its national headquarters to Chicago.

The company has leased 129,000 square feet of space and will be based out of recently renovated offices at 250 S. Wacker Dr. in the 2nd Ward, a deal that will bring 325 jobs to the City.

MillerCoors will improve the river walk on the west side of the building and seek LEED for Commercial Interior certification by providing sustainability improvements to their workspace to ensure a healthy, productive and efficient work environment. The City will provide up to $5.7 million in TIF assistance from the LaSalle Central TIF to assist with relocation costs.

MillerCoors is a joint venture formed last year between Molson Coors Brewing Company and SABMiller PLC.

Wildwood Green Homes
An ordinance was also approved that authorizes the conveyance of seven City-owned parcels in the City's Humboldt Park community and awards fee waivers and subsidies to Wildwood Development, LLC for the construction of 10 single-family homes. The parcels, located on scattered sites in the 27th Ward, will be a part of the development called Wildwood Green Homes.

The homes are being built through the City's New Homes for Chicago program, which provides City-owned land and financial assistance to build affordable homes. The proposed single-family homes will contain 1,530 square feet of living space with three bedrooms and two bathrooms.

The City is providing up to $400,000 in purchase price assistance to qualified buyers up to a maximum of $40,000 per home, depending on the buyer’s income. Base prices will start at $195,000. The homes will contain various green features to make them energy efficient and environmentally friendly in design. Green features will include a partial green roof, added building insulation, Low E windows, floors made of renewable bamboo, Energy Star appliances and fixtures and native landscaping.

1300 Exchange, LLC
Approved also was an ordinance authorizing the sale of a vacant City-owned parcel at 4121 S. Packer Ave. for the expansion of a construction debris sorting station in the City’s New City community.

The developer, 1300 Exchange, LLC, will purchase the one acre parcel for $280,000 and combine it with a privately held one in the 11th Ward to expand a sorting station, which will divert bricks, wood, metal, gypsum, concrete, cardboard, plastic and asphalt out of landfills and into appropriate recycling facilities.

The sorting center will provide contractors and developers space to sort the materials to comply with the City’s ordinance to recycle construction debris. Each of the material types will then be sold and recycled for new uses.

Approximately 500 to 800 tons of material will be handled each day and roughly 20 tons of recyclable materials will leave the site daily and be kept out of landfills.

The new facility will also help improve vehicle circulation, allow for more storage space and landscaping and other site improvements.

Grove Parc Apartments
The next ordinance authorizes the purchase of the HUD mortgage on the 504-unit complex called Grove Parc Apartments to help facilitate the redevelopment of the property in the Woodlawn community.

The $12 million mortgage will be purchased by the City for $1,000 and the reduction of the debt will make financing the redevelopment more feasible. Grove Parc is a project-based Section 8 development at 61st St. and Cottage Grove Ave. in the 20th Ward.

The developer, Preservation of Affordable Housing, Inc., will preserve the Section 8 units and build at new mixed-use development at the location, including 65,000 square feet of retail space.

Plans call for the phased demolition of the complex and the construction of a new development called Woodlawn Park with 420-units of new mixed-income housing and the existing Section 8 units on the rebuilt site.

The rehabilitation and new construction of these units is an important part of the City’s strategy not only to create affordable housing but to preserve housing for long-term affordability.

Mount Greenwood Plaza
Another ordinance authorizes the sale of a City-owned parking lot and TIF assistance for the construction of Mount Greenwood Plaza, a $10.5 million retail center to be built in the Mount Greenwood community.

The developer, Gendell Partners-Mt. Greenwood LLC, will build a 17,500 square foot retail plaza that will be anchored by a Walgreens drugstore at 111th St. and S. Kedzie Ave. (northwest corner) in the 19th Ward. The 1.9 acre site will also include a rehabbed second building, a green plaza with extensive landscaping and seating and onsite parking.

The City will provide the land for $1 and $1.5 million in TIF assistance for the development.