This page is dedicated to providing resources and educational information regarding the vacancy crisis in Chicago and Cook County. We would also like to provide resources to business owners who would like to start a business to aid in their purchase of vacant spaces.
Below is also our NRC Blog, where we provide updates on our advocacy efforts and new developments.
Newsworthy Articles
NRC in the News
- Logan Square's Outdoor Farmers Market Returns May 8 With More Vendors, But Winter Market Scrapped For 2023 (blockclubchicago.org)(04/27/2022)
- South Shore, Englewood, Humboldt Park Groups Getting $2.7 Million, Support For Community-Led Developments (blockclubchicago.org)(04/15/2022)
- Block Club Chicago: Some Landlords Keep Their Storefronts Empty For Years (10/04/2022)
Neighborhood Development News
- Northwestern Medicine plans outpatient facility in Bronzeville - CBS Chicago (cbsnews.com) (06/02/2022)
- Bulls And Constellation Energy De-Winterize The Bronzeville Community Garden | Chicago Bulls (nba.com) (05/10/2022)
- Bronzeville Winery, landmark attraction of 4400 Grove mixed-use development, opens | Business | hpherald.com (04/21/2022)
- South Shore, Englewood, Humboldt Park Groups Getting $2.7 Million, Support For Community-Led Developments (blockclubchicago.org) (04/15/2022)
- Englewood's Multimillion-Dollar Nature Trail Is Moving Forward. Locals Want It To Be For Neighbors, By Neighbors (blockclubchicago.org) (04/15/2022)
- New apartment tower off Mag Mile in Streeterville planned | Crain's Chicago Business (04/14/2022)
- Avondale's Belmont Triangle Could See New Life As City Looks To Redevelop Vacant 4-Acre Site (blockclubchicago.org)(04/14/2022)
- City of Chicago :: Mayor Lightfoot Announces April 25 Launch of Applications for The Chicago Resilient Communities Pilot (04/13/2022)
- City of Chicago :: Mayor Lightfoot Joins Alderwoman Coleman and MR Properties LLC For the Grand Opening of The Montclare Senior Residences of Englewood (04/13/2022)
- Two Locally Owned Grocery Stores Underway on West Side | Chicago News | WTTW (02/09/2022)
- City Council OK’s mixed-use project at 3914 N. Lincoln | Urbanize Chicago (02/07/2022)
- UChicago Medicine Planning $633 Million Cancer Center On The South Side (blockclubchicago.org)(02/03/2022)
- Cost of buying some Chicago properties drops under new ordinance - Chicago Business Journal (bizjournals.com)(01/28/2022)
Vacancy and Blight News Archive
- Downers Grove landlord seeks a big cash-out | Crain's Chicago Business (05/31/2022)
- Chicago Pedway system: Businesses in city's underground tunnels struggle to survive as Loop reopens - ABC7 Chicago (04/15/2022)
- Downtown Chicago office vacancy jumps to another record high | Crain's Chicago Business (04/14/2022)
- Water Tower Place owner walking away from troubled Mag Mile mall - Chicago Tribune (04/06/2022)
- The 2022 Chicago 7 Most Endangered Buildings announced | Urbanize Chicago (03/10/2022)
- Chicago's violent crime poses a challenge to its technology sector | Crain's Chicago Business(02/02/2022)
- COVID-19 financial distress hits Chicago Loop office landlords | Crain's Chicago Business(02/03/2022)
- Thefts, arrests, vacant store fronts: What can be done to save Chicago's Mag Mile? (WGN) (12/06/2022)
- ABC7 Eyewitness News: Chicago Retail Storefronts Sit Empty (10/19/2021)
- Chicago Business: Downtown Office Vacancies Hit New Record Highs (10/13/2021)
- Block Club Chicago: City Must Map Out An ‘Endgame’ To Transform ‘Problem’ Buildings Languishing In Court, says Matthew Beaudet (10/06/2021)
- Chicago Business: What Will it Take to Revive Austin? (06/18/2021)
- Chicago Tribune: Problem with Scavenger Sales (12/10/2020)
- DNA Info: "'Vacancy Fraud' Allowing Tax Breaks for Empty Storefronts Under Fire" (10/06/2021)
Zoning News and Stories
- Jefferson Park Affordable Housing Development For Veterans, People With Disabilities Opens Applications (blockclubchicago.org) (06/02/2022)
- Illinois issues 48 new craft cannabis grower licenses in step that helps diversify the industry (chicagotribune.com) (06/01/2022)
- A 108-Unit Affordable Housing Development Could Be Coming To Englewood's 63rd Street Corridor (blockclubchicago.org) (05/26/2022)
- The Metropolitan Planning Council Blog Series: Yesterday's Zoning
NRC Blog
City Council Expands Outdoor Dining in Chicago!
growthzone
June 5, 2023
Like Share Tweet Chicago’s City Council passed an ordinance that reinstates policies that expand outdoor dining in Chicago. This ordinance will permit restaurants and taverns
Reduce Recidivism and Grow the Workforce
growthzone
May 16, 2023
Like Share Tweet HB 3418 FACT SHEET Read H.B. 3418 Labor shortage requires unconventional hiring… JPMorgan says labor shortage requires unconventional hiring, including people with
Support Outdoor Dining in Chicago
growthzone
April 27, 2023
Like Share Tweet Download the Outdoor Dining FACT SHEET Prompt Action Needed to Support Outdoor Dining in Chicago Chicago’s neighborhood restaurants suffered greatly during the
Other Resources
- SBAC Empower is a 501(c)(3) established as a community-oriented nonprofit organization with a focus on small businesses in under-funded neighborhoods throughout the Chicagoland area.
Illinois DCEO First Stop – Resources
- Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity has an aggregate of resources to help entrepreneurs set up their business in the State of Illinois.
Chicago BACP Small Business Center
- The Small Business Center (SBC) is the business licensing division of the City of Chicago’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) and the City’s “one-stop-shop” for business licensing, public way use permitting, and connecting entrepreneurs to business resources.
Crain’s Chicago Small Business Resource Guide
- Crain’s Chicago Business has created an aggregate of information for small business owners, providing a list of organizations and chambers that aid small business owners (Including the SBAC!).
Cook County Land Bank Authority
- The Cook County Land Bank Authority (CCLBA) works to reduce and return vacant land and abandoned buildings back into reliable and sustainable community assets.
City of Chicago City-Owned Land Sales Programs
- The Department of Planning and Development (DPD) makes City-owned real estate available for purchase and redevelopment through various programs.
- Open data portal for Cook County, Illinois.
- Data portal for Chicago, Illinois. Includes various services that break down data to better understand the health and well-being of your local community.
- The Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning has an extensive amount of data projects available to view. This includes land use data and community snapshots.
Bureau of Labor Statistics – Illinois
- Data gathered from the Midwest Information Office of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.
- Learn more about how the NRC plans to revitalize, empower and connect our local commercial corridors.
Revitalizing Neighborhood Business Districts
- Commercial vacancies impact struggling business districts. Click here to learn about how you can help address commercial vacancies in your neighborhood.
- Our coalition is comprised of passionate stakeholders dedicated to improving the quality of life in their commercial corridor. Learn about our partners here.
- The NRC engages in grassroots advocacy consisting of town halls, community engagement, and survey research. Learn more about these efforts here.
