On a beautiful September afternoon at the ASPIRE Center in Austin, JPMorgan Chase announced a $10 million low-cost loan to CCLF for its Communities of Color Fund. CCLF created the Communities of Color Fund (CofC) to address racial equity in low- to moderate-income neighborhoods throughout Chicagoland. The fund will be available to developers undertaking real estate projects, such as affordable housing, commercial retail, social enterprise or community facilities, in Chicagoland’s long-time disinvested communities. Eligible borrowers can apply for up to $1 million for projects impacting communities of color.
The ASPIRE Center is a project which received $3.3 million of CofC Fund financing in 2023 and is currently under construction revitalizing a shuttered elementary school into a top-notch destination for workforce development training. Darnell Shields, Executive Director of Austin Coming Together is co-developer of the ASPIRE Center along with Morris Reed from West Side Health Authority. Shields stated, “The ASPIRE initiative also seeks to establish an eco-system of support for better education, wellness and housing options from cradle to career here in Austin community.”
Opening in April 2025, Shields expressed his gratitude for the essential collaboration among funders like Chase and CCLF and many others that brought the ASPIRE Center to fruition. “It is only through this type of cooperative work and alignment that we can really bring about the change we want to see in our communities on the South and West Sides,” exclaimed Shields.
CCLF first launched its $25 million CofC Fund in 2021 with a big demand for low-cost capital for developers working in Chicagoland’s communities of color. Kevin Goldsmith, Managing Director, Community Development Tax Credits & Intermediaries Lending for Chase, stated, “We know high borrowing costs and lack of access to equity financing has contributed to disinvestment in low-income communities, particularly, communities of color. Today, we are proud to announce a new $10 million commitment to CCLF to support rejuvenation needs of Chicago’s South and West Sides.”
Bob Tucker, CCLF’s Interim President, thanked Chase for their new investment and philanthropic support of CCLF. “This new investment was critical in launching CCLF’s second tranche of its Communities of Color Fund. This initiative will provide sustained, long-term investment to help our borrowers develop healthy communities with housing, commercial facilities, retail and social enterprises in long-time underinvested communities. The substantial infusion of capital by JPMorgan Chase will advance CCLF’s goal to transform our entire region into one with equitable prosperity for all.”
“This is a great day for Illinois as we celebrate terrific institutions rooted in the community for their tireless pursuit of a stronger and more prosperous Chicago,” said Governor J.B. Pritzker, “and the amazing opportunity being presented to lift-up communities and people who have too often been left out and left behind.”
Governor Pritzker thanked State Senator Kimberly Lightford for her leadership in the Austin community and the state of Illinois and praised Chase and CCLF for working to meet the community development needs of the underinvested neighborhoods. “Not only are you providing economic opportunity for our people, but you are making Chicago a cleaner, safer and healthier city,” stated Governor Pritzker. “The $10 million loan will create opportunities for so many to build better lives. You should all be very proud of that.”