MPC to present Burnham Award at 2006 Annual Meeting Luncheon on Aug. 7,
which also will feature a forum for Illinois gubernatorial candidates
(CHICAGO)…..
Longtime Garfield Park resident Minnie Smith and her husband of 50 years, Joe, have
fulfilled many of their dreams: they raised six children and ran a
BBQ
restaurant on Chicago’s South Side, and Minnie serves as
president of their block club and tends three community gardens
in their
West Side neighborhood. Just two weeks
ago, they celebrated their latest endeavor when the doors
opened
to
Garfield Park’s first and only coffee shop, Westside
Coffee Express, located at Lake and Pulaski in
the
Bethel
Center.
The shop, which the
couple co-owns with their daughter, Brenda, serves specialty coffee drinks,
teas, smoothies, pastries, and homemade pies and cobblers to local business
owners, transit commuters, and college students who are fast becoming regulars.
In addition to the goodies, the place has atmosphere to spare: a relaxing
massage chair, electric fireplace (to beat the chill
during
Chicago’s winter months),
and wireless Internet combine to create a cozy and convenient community
gathering spot.
“There used to be a
restaurant on this corner, years ago, but it’s long gone,” said Minnie. “We
didn’t have any coffee places in our area, and everybody wanted a place where we
could have meetings and get a cup of coffee. This is it.”
Owning a business in Garfield Park is a lifelong dream
for Minnie and Joe, and it’s one they say they couldn’t have accomplished
without help from Bethel New Life, Inc. Through the development of the Bethel
Center – a “green-designed,” multi-use development connected to the Green Line
El station at Lake and Pulaski, with businesses such as Westside Coffee Express,
a dry cleaner, daycare, Community Saving Center, and employment center – Bethel
is fulfilling the dreams of many Garfield Park residents who hope for better
opportunities in their neighborhood. Bethel Center – together with Parkside
Estates, Bethel’s affordable housing development two blocks away – connects
jobs, places to shop, public transit, and affordable homes. Representing
community planning at its best, this combined development earned Bethel New Life, Inc.
the Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) 2006
Burnham Award for Excellence in Planning.
“Since 1979, Bethel New Life has been working to
transform Chicago’s West Side by increasing opportunities for prosperity,” said
Joseph A. Gregoire, president and CEO of Illinois Banking for National City
Bank, and chair of the Burnham Award selection committee. Gregoire will present
the award to Bethel New Life’s President and CEO Steven McCullough at the MPC
Annual Meeting Luncheon on Aug. 7 in downtown Chicago. “Parkside Estates and the Bethel Center –
which collectively offer places
to live, work, shop and learn,
all
within
blocks of
the El and neighborhood
amenities – underscore Bethel New Life’s dedication to expanding options for the
thousands of people living in Garfield Park and surrounding neighborhoods. The selection
committee was particularly impressed by Bethel New Life’s unrelenting high standards for design
and workmanship.”
For 19 years, the Burnham
Award has recognized innovative plans and projects in the
Chicago
region. This year’s
award includes a $5,000 cash prize underwritten by National City
Bank.
Bethel New Life’s most
recent success builds on its mission of eradicating poverty, unemployment and
despair in a neighborhood where, for so long, these seemed the only options.
Race riots in the late 1960s and early 1970s wreaked havoc in the community,
driving away local homeowners and businesses, and scaring off potential
investors. Vowing to reverse the destruction taking place in the neighborhood,
members of
Bethel
Lutheran
Church
pooled their resources to buy and
renovate a three-flat apartment.
Today,
Bethel
has far outgrown
its modest beginnings. The organization has some 350 employees who, with the
help of nearly 1,300 volunteers, run dozens of programs serving thousands of
clients. To date, the organization has brought close to $110 million in
investment to the credit-starved community, placed more than 7,000 people in
living-wage jobs, and developed more than 1,000 new units of affordable housing.
“On behalf of our board,
staff, partners, and the residents of
Garfield
Park
, we accept the Burnham Award from
MPC. Our work embodies the principles necessary to create a community of choice
for existing and future residents,” said Steven McCullough, president and CEO,
Bethel New Life, Inc. “Transit-oriented development, green technology, and
focused affordable housing combined with strong community participation prove
that these concepts can work in low-income communities across the country.”
“Bethel
has motivated us,
encouraged us, provided us with information,” said Minnie. “Their support has
meant so much to us.”
In addition to the
presentation of the Burnham Award, MPC’s Annual Meeting Luncheon will feature a
forum at which gubernatorial candidates Democratic Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich and
Republican challenger Judy Baar Topinka will have the opportunity to outline
what they plan to do, if elected, to reduce congestion, increase housing
options, improve schools, and inspire sensible growth. Also, the Council will
welcome new officers and board members.
The Annual Meeting Luncheon
is MPC’s sole fundraising event of the year. More than 50 companies and hundreds
of individuals are sponsoring this year’s event, including Harris Holdings,
LLC., National City Bank, PortaeCo Inc., and Pritzker Realty. MPC is also
grateful to media partner Comcast, which will broadcast the meeting through its
OnDemand feature.
Founded
in 1934, the Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan
group of business and civic leaders committed to serving the public interest
through the promotion and implementation of sensible planning and development
policies necessary for an economically competitive
Chicago
region.