Settled in the mid-nineteenth century, Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood is a historic community known as the home of the Union Stockyards. Chicago’s concentration of railroads and ingenuity led to the large development of the meatpacking industry and those seeking job opportunities. The precarious and unsanitary working conditions, industry pollution, and low wages spurred a national movement for food and worker safety.
The Back of the Yards community remained largely Slavic, but over time, both the community and the meatpacking industry changed. By the 1970s, the increased use of interstate trucking changed the manufacturing landscape. The area is now primarily industrial and a predominately Latinx neighborhood with a large number of African Americans. Within the last 40-50 years, the community has been hard hit by job loss and disinvestment.
Today, it is identified as part of the New City community area on Chicago’s Southwest Side. In recent years, 29% of the population lives in poverty, compared to the citywide poverty rate of 17%.
Such disinvestment generated attention to Chicago’s Mayor Lightfoot’s INVEST South/West community development initiative. New City is one of 10 priority communities selected as part of the initial phase of the commercial corridor improvement strategy program.
INVEST South/West’s goal is to re-activate neighborhood cores that have historically served as focal points of community engagement. In New City, the priority focus of this effort is the intersection of 47th Street and Ashland Avenue and adjacent blocks.
The project, called United Yards, is a joint venture of Celadon Partners and the Blackwood Group. The project will focus on multiple vacant and improved properties near Ashland and 47th Street – in the heart of Back of the Yards neighborhood. As part of additional phases, the development includes the revitalization of a vacant, City-owned lot at 1515 W. 47th Street with affordable housing and a ground floor business hub and youth programming space. Further phases of United Yards will include senior rental apartments, a future entrepreneur hub, medical clinic, dialysis center and park space. The largely vacant, four-story commercial Rainbow building at 4701 S. Ashland Ave. is also included in the master plan.
United Yards officially broke ground mid-March with a groundbreaking ceremony near the historic Goldblatt’s building. The first phase of the project will focus on housing.
On March 23, CCLF closed on a $2,460,000 predevelopment loan for Celadon Partners LLC / Celadon Properties LLC. This development will create 45 affordable housing units and 70 jobs plus an additional 110 construction jobs.
Celadon Partners is an experienced affordable housing developer, having completed several redevelopment projects and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) transactions throughout the Chicagoland region.
The high-spirited groundbreaking ceremony started inside the forthcoming retail space, offering refreshments from a local coffee roaster and bakery. Alderwoman Jeanette B. Taylor (20th Ward) welcomed those in attendance, and Jesse Íñiguez, Director of Coffee Operations at Back of the Yards Coffee Co. spoke to the vision of Back of the Yards Works – focused on locally owned retail. Samir Mayekar, Deputy Mayor for Economic and Neighborhood Development, highlighted the INVEST South/West initiative and introduced Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Maurice Cox, Commissioner, Chicago Department of Planning and Development spoke about the ambitious plans for 47th Street and Ashland Avenue.
The celebration continued across the street with shovels and hardhats – amid a colorful neighborhood mural. United Yards partners in attendance included: Celadon Partners, Blackwood Group, DesignBridge Architects + Planners and Back of the Yards Works.