Good afternoon, Chicago. ✶
In today’s newsletter, we’re looking into one organization’s attempts to open up the commercial real estate business to more Black Chicagoans — and how that could play out in Roseland.
Plus, we’ve got reporting on the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s new millennial music director, why you might soon see some plaster cicadas around, a Bridgeport restaurant rec and more community news you need to know below. 👇
⏱️: A 7-minute read
— Matt Moore, newsletter reporter (@MattKenMoore)
TODAY’S TOP STORY
Roseland residents are given a chance to co-own a strip mall
Reporting by Esther Yoon-Ji Kang | WBEZ
Owning the mall: Chicago TREND Corp., a social enterprise-oriented organization, recently purchased the Roseland Medical and Retail Center strip mall on West 111th Street. The plan? Persuade neighbors to invest and own a piece of the retail center with investments that start at $1,000 — and open up the commercial real estate business to more Black owners.
The pitch: “If people have a little ownership stake [in the center], they will patronize it and protect it and respect it in a different way,” said Chicago TREND CEO Lyneir Richardson. “We want people to … financially benefit from it as the neighborhood gets stronger and as the shopping center gets stronger.”
The property: The 27,000-square-foot strip mall is occupied by an urgent care center, a primary care clinic, a pharmacy, some restaurants, a nail salon and other businesses. There’s also a vacant parcel available for development.
Community investment: This month Richardson launched the campaign on the real estate crowdfunding platform Small Change. The total purchase price is $6 million, with $2.5 million funded by equity from Chicago TREND and community investors. Those smaller investors will cover up to $1.25 million of the deal, with the remainder of the $2.5 million coming from Chicago TREND.
Baltimore example: Chicago TREND has completed two other shopping center crowdfunding projects in Baltimore. Garrick Hines of Baltimore is one of 200 community investors at the Edmondson Village Shopping Center there. “It [was] a no-brainer — I own here. I shop here, and I could be part owner of something that I’m actually a part of each and every day,” Hines said.
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
- CSO’s new music director: Klaus Mäkelä, a 28-year-old conducting wunderkind who has garnered stellar reviews and considerable success in his short, meteoric career, will become the 11th music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the ensemble announced.
- Remembering Joe Flaherty: The comic actor, who rose from the ranks of Chicago’s Second City to acclaimed roles on television’s “SCTV” and “Freaks & Geeks,” died Monday at age 82, family said.
- How O’Neill Burke won: While Eileen O’Neill Burke’s overall margin of victory in the primary for state’s attorney was incredibly small — about 1,500 votes or 0.3 percentage points — the results were anything but close in most precincts across Cook County, according to a WBEZ analysis of election returns.
- Outdoor dining confusion: A stretch of Clark Street between Grand Avenue and Kinzie Street has been a hotbed for Chicago’s outdoor dining program, but its future remains uncertain.
- 3 stars for ‘Wicked Little Letters’: Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley, two brilliant actors, lighten up in a period-piece comedy about poison-pen letters from a mysterious culprit, writes Sun-Times critic Richard Roeper.
SUN-TIMES SUGGESTS 🍽️
Eat at Han 202
For a delicious meal on the South Side, my colleague Mitchell Armentrout — staff reporter here at the Sun-Times — recommends stopping by Han 202 in Bridgeport.
A neighborhood gem: “Han 202 is an unfussy fine dining gem tucked in a nondescript storefront in Bridgeport. I finally made it there after years of walking by without paying it any mind, and boy am I mad at myself for the delay,” Mitchell tells me.
What to order: “It’s Chinese cuisine with a French twist, as the owners bill it, and you can taste every bit of both worlds in the shrimp toast.”
Date night material: Generous cocktails and an upscale but reasonably priced prix fixe menu — this is prime date night material, Mitchell says.
BRIGHT ONE ✨
Avondale’s Insect Asylum celebrates historic cicada season with public art project
Reporting by Mary Norkol
More cicadas are set to join the millions expected to emerge from years underground this spring in Illinois, and while they won’t make a sound they’ll add to the buzz of this natural phenomenon that hasn’t been seen in centuries.
A local museum and Chicago artists will adorn the city with giant decorative versions of the bugs, thanks to a public art project called the “Cicada Parade-a” run by the Avondale-based Insect Asylum and Baltimore artist Michael Bowman.
The art project, which Bowman launched in Baltimore when 17-year cicadas emerged there in 2021, involves creating hundreds of giant plaster cicadas for artists and the public to paint and display.
The decorative cicadas will be on display across the city starting in May and running through the summer. Artists can adopt a cicada for free in exchange for decorating it and displaying it publicly. Others can purchase the cicadas for $75.
Two broods — or breeding groups — of cicadas that emerge every 13 and 17 years, respectively, will coincide for the first time since 1803. To Bowman and the Insect Asylum staff, that’s cause for celebration and reflection.
“For us, it’s spiritual,” said Nina Salem, founder of the Insect Asylum.
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Editor: Satchel Price
Newsletter reporter: Matt Moore
Copy editor: Angie Myers
