The Small Business Improvement Fund will give grants to eligible small businesses with locations in many of Chicago’s Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts who want to purchase property, renovate or remodel occupied buildings, rehab vacant buildings, and purchase new HVAC equipment.
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Currently, the SBIF application process is open in these six TIF districts (click on each to view a map):
The application period for TIF districts #1–5 closes January 5, 2018. The sixth one, Austin Commercial, closes on January 12, 2018.
Dan’s Soul Food & Bakery in the Ashburn community area got a grant for $29,208 this year for $40,000 of renovation work to replace flooring, upgrade electrical service, and replace insulation and drywall.
How to apply
The applications for SBIF grants is handled by, SomerCor, a third-party company on behalf of the City of Chicago. Review the details on their website about how to apply and what expenses and projects are and aren’t eligible.
As always, search for any address or PIN on Chicago Cityscape and the website will tell you if that address or parcel is in a TIF district (this works not only for Chicago, but in all of Cook County).
The application period in other TIF districts will open soon; check SomerCor.
Neighborhood news (5 stories)
A new map shows where in Chicago it’s been “hard to count” people in the decennial Census because they don’t mail back their questionnaires. The boundaries for elected officials are drawn based on the Census counts, and federal and state money are distributed based on the Census, so it’s important that everyone gets counted — even those who are undocumented. (NJ.com)
The Cook County Land Bank Authority has acquired a former (money) bank in Woodlawn. The staff at Metropolitan Planning Council will conduct three public meetings in the style of the ones they previously did in Logan Square & Uptown for development sites in those neighborhoods. (South Side Weekly)
WBEZ reviews how participatory budgeting works. PB is a program where certain alders choose to let ward residents aged 16 and older decide how to spend $1 million of the ward’s annual allocation of $1.32 million.
LISC Chicago reports on the one-year progress of the Southwest Corridor Collaborative goals to attract employers and give technical support and increase access to capital for existing & new small businesses in Englewood, West Englewood, Auburn Gresham, and Chicago Lawn.
A piece of land between Bucktown and Lincoln Square, notable for a single billboard and several satellite dishes, is destined to become housing for 370 households, with some retail, if Alder Scott Waguespack (32nd Ward) grants Belgravia, the buyer-in-waiting the zoning change they need. You might also know it as the land across from Rebuilding Exchange. (Chicago Sun-Times)