16th Annual Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards

CCLF congratulates the Community Economic Development Law Project (and their Executive Director Susan Kaplan, Vice Chair of the CCLF Board of Directors), and CCLF borrower Holsten Real Estate Development Corporation, for their recent awards at the 16th Annual Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards. These awards, organized by LISC/Chicago, recognize individuals, nonprofit and for-profit organizations that have improved the quality of life in Chicagoland’s communities and neighborhoods.

The Community Economic Development Law Project (CEDLP) won the Special Recognition Award for its work as the only public interest legal organization dedicated to assisting nonprofit groups with neighborhood revitalization efforts. Currently, CEDLP marshals an average of $2 million in pro bono legal services each year. Through the years, CCLF has greatly benefited from the services of their pro bono legal counsel.

The Whistler Crossing development in south suburban Riverdale was honored with two awards. The Holsten Real Estate Development Corporation and its nonprofit partner Turnstone Development won the Outstanding For-Profit Neighborhood Real Estate Project Award for their creative and comprehensive plan for neighborhood revitalization. Farr Associates, the architectural firm that designed the redevelopment, was awarded as the second place recipient of the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Award for Architectural Excellence in Community Design for innovative preservation and elaboration of the original design plan.

CCLF provided the Whistler Crossing project a $1 million loan in 2005 as seed capital to launch the innovative, sustainable redevelopment. The $39 million first phase of the project includes 130 housing units and five commercial units that will help to stabilize the area. Whistler Crossing was also the first project in Illinois to qualify for LEED-ND certification.