The Urban Land Institute (ULI) awarded CCLF customer, DL3 Realty, a 2018 Community Impact Vision Award for its Englewood Square Retail Center in Chicago. Presented during the organization’s 7th Annual Vision Awards Ceremony in June, the Englewood Square Retail Center and DL3 Realty were recognized for serving as catalysts for revitalization in a community suffering from years of disinvestment and neglect. Rian Walker and her son, Adam Walker, accepted the award on behalf of her husband and DL3 Realty founder, Leon Walker.

Located at 63rd and Halsted in Chicago, Englewood Square strengthens the community by providing high-quality options for food and services. The center offers 50,000 square feet of retail space anchored by three national brands, including Whole Foods Market Englewood, providing fresh foods to local consumers and procurement opportunities to over 35 local suppliers. Chipotle, Starbucks and Oak Street Health Center are also part of the retail center, providing 200 jobs to local residents.

Accepting on behalf of DL3 Realty, Choudhry Muzaffar, Alex Sparhawk, Adam Walker and Rian Walker receive the Urban Land Institute’s 2018 Community Impact Vision Award for DL3’s Englewood Square Retail Center.

DL3 Realty is a commercial real estate company with a mission to develop projects that help improve and sustain neighborhood life in Chicago’s urban communities. CCLF provided a predevelopment loan of $500,000 to DL3 Realty for the Englewood Square project using U.S. Treasury CDFI Fund Healthy Food Financing Initiative dollars. Other funders for the project included PNC Bank, Chicago Development Fund and Fundrise.

Held this year at the newly renovated Theater on the Lake in Chicago, the ULI Vision Awards annually recognizes projects, programs and young professionals that define the standard of real estate development in the Chicagoland area.