Ryan Griffin-Stegink/Metropolitan Planning Council
Breaking ground at Shops and Lofts at 47
“For some, the number seven symbolizes luck; others associate it with the fulfillment of a prophecy,” reflected former 4th Ward Alderman and current Quad Communities Development Corporation (QCDC) Chair Shirley Newsome, to a packed crowd on April 2, as they celebrated the groundbreaking of The Shops and Lofts at 47. Seven years in the making, it could be argued that this anchor mixed-use building at the corner of 47th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue is much more the result of the latter than the former—plus just plain old hard work and perseverance. But Newsome summed up the true feeling of the day when she said, “The most relevant meaning of the number seven in this case is rebirth.” This is what the project is all about: giving new life to the Bronzeville community and helping transform Cottage Grove Avenue and 47th Street into vibrant corridors for retail and housing.
Rendering of Shops at Lofts at 47.
Once completed in 2014, Shops and Lofts at 47 will feature a 41,000 sq. ft. Walmart Neighborhood Market, 14,000 sq. ft. of neighborhood retail and 96 rental apartments—an $46 million project in total. At the groundbreaking, Mayor Rahm Emanuel pointed out that Shops and Lofts at 47 aligns with the recently announced “Chicago Neighborhoods Now” program, an initiative to improve seven communities across Chicago, including Bronzeville. "Shops and Lofts at 47 is not an island, but an anchor project that will leverage and accentuate other investments," Mayor Emanuel said, adding that it's the “beginning of a new chapter for Bronzeville."
Turning the page to this new chapter has been far from easy. In normal cases, a development of this size should not take seven years. It all started when Bernita Johnson-Gabriel, the spitfire executive director of QCDC, and her consultant Chinwe Onyeagoro went to Las Vegas to an International Council of Shopping Centers conference to market Bronzeville and the Cottage Grove corridor to developers. There they met the development teams that make up Mahogany Ventures, the lead developer of Shops and Lofts. Since that first meeting, however, this project has battled many hurdles. Originally planned as a mixed-use condominium project, the development lost its anchor tenant. That setback then delayed the project, pushing it smack dab into the middle of the great recession. It weathered three aldermanic transitions, the built and lost hopes of Chicago’s 2016 Olympic bid that would have spurred additional investment in the community, and the many skeptics who didn’t see the vision local leaders did. In this time, the team grew, bringing on The Community Builders, a national affordable housing developer, who led the charge to transition the deal from for-sale housing to mixed-income apartments. Through it all, when many would have walked away, the partners remained committed.
This project never would have been realized without stalwart visionaries like Cook County Board President and former 4th Ward Ald. Toni Preckwinkle, 4th Ward Ald. Will Burns, former Ald. Newsome, Johnson-Gabriel, and the countless others who knew the potential of their community and made sure others could see it, too.
For MPC, Shops and Lofts at 47 has special meaning. We have spent the last five years supporting efforts to develop and retain retail in Bronzeville and have helped local leaders focus energies on fulfilling the potential of 47th Street, a key corridor that connects the community from the Dan Ryan Expressway to Lake Michigan. This project is important to me personally, as I've lived in Bronzeville for the past nine years and serve as a board member of QCDC. I hope you will join us in 2014 at the ribbon cutting!
MPC Research Assistant Cecilia Gamba contributed to this post.
MPC's Joanna Trotter (far right, with shovel) and other QCDC board and staff members.