Good afternoon, Chicago. ✶
Back in 2022, Mayor Lori Lightfoot kickstarted La Salle Street Reimagined, an initiative that invited developers to submit proposals for reducing vacancies in office and retail space in Chicago’s nerve center for finance.
Developers had a pretty big incentive to throw their hats in the ring — the city was offering millions in tax increment financing as potential subsidies.
Below, we’ll explain how the effort to revive La Salle will continue this spring, when Mayor Brandon Johnson plans to formally propose four projects that could amount to more than $150 million in TIF assistance.
Plus, we’ve got reporting on your Chicago James Beard Award finalists, a local truck driver turned fashion designer and more community news you need to know this afternoon.
⏱️: A 7-minute read
— Matt Moore, newsletter reporter (@MattKenMoore)
TODAY’S TOP STORY
Mayor Johnson proposing more than $150M in TIF assistance for La Salle Street revamp
Reporting by Fran Spielman and Abby Miller
Revamp plans a go: Mayor Brandon Johnson’s office is making good on its promise to not let the city’s record tax increment financing surplus interfere with the transformation of La Salle Street office buildings to residential use. He announced four projects Wednesday that he plans to formally propose for development assistance this spring.
The goal: The projects stand to create more than 1,000 apartments with at least 319 projected to have affordable rents through TIF assistance. The affordable units would be reserved for tenants who earn an average of 60% of the area’s median income, about $53,000 for a two-person household.
What’s next: The four projects will be reviewed this spring by the Community Development Commission and the Landmarks Commission. The City Council will need to approve TIF support and, potentially, other aspects of each project.
Details on the proposed projects include:
111 W. Monroe: Developers Prime Group and Capri plan to create 345 units with 105 earmarked as affordable through a requested $40 million TIF subsidy. The $202.8 million project will cover 14 floors within a pair of adjacent buildings, including a high-rise built in 1911. There’s also a 228-room hotel planned on the lower levels.
208 S. La Salle: Prime Group would convert four floors in the building into 226 apartments. Of those, 68 would be affordable through $26.2 million in TIF assistance.
30 N. La Salle: Golub & Co. and Corebridge Financial plan to create 349 apartments, including 105 affordable units. The $130.2 million project would span 14 floors in the 1975 high-rise and use $57 million in TIF assistance.
79 W. Monroe: A $64.2 million project planned by Italy-based spirits company Campari Group, would convert eight floors in the 1913 Bell Federal Savings & Loan building into 117 residences with 41 affordable units. The project’s TIF request is $28 million.
WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON?
- NASCAR traffic plans: As Chicago gears up to host a NASCAR race in Grant Park for the second consecutive year, city and race officials have released a traffic plan for the July 6-7 event. The closures for setup and teardown are set to last 19 days.
- 3 charged in fatal shooting: Three men have been charged in connection with a mass shooting on the West Side that left a 16-year-old boy dead and three people wounded over the Easter weekend.
- TB infections at shelters: The city confirmed a small number of tuberculosis cases have been detected among migrants at city shelters — but would not reveal the number of cases or identify the shelters.
- Why the MSI closed: A spokesperson for the Museum of Science and Industry said the building was closed Wednesday so that staff could move military artifacts from archival storage. It is expected to reopen Thursday.
- Sox game postponed: The White Sox scheduled game against the Atlanta Braves Wednesday has been postponed due to the weather. It will be made up June 27.
- Swimming in the Chicago River: On Sept. 22, the Chicago River will be closed to all commercial and recreational vessel traffic. Why? So that hundreds of Chicagoans can enjoy an open-water swim — the first one in the river in more than 100 years.
- Understand your eggs: What’s the difference between cage-free and free-range eggs? What’s the deal with the color of the eggs? We answer these egg-shopping questions and more here.
JAMES BEARD FINALISTS ANNOUNCED 🍽️
4 Chicago restaurants, chefs among 2024 James Beard Award finalists
Reporting by Miriam Di Nunzio
Four Chicago restaurants/chefs are among the 2024 finalists for the James Beard Awards, revealed Wednesday.
The coveted awards, affectionately known as the Oscars of the culinary world, recognize excellence in the hospitality industry coast to coast.
The four finalists were selected from among a near-record 17 Chicago semifinalist nominations announced in January.
This year’s local finalists for the prestigious honors — which will be announced at a gala ceremony at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in June — are:
Best Chef Great Lakes: Sujan Sarkar, Indienne (progressive Indian fine dining); Jenner Tomaska, Esmé (ever-changing fine dining tasting menu).
Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker: Anna Posey, Elske (Danish-influenced American contemporary)
Outstanding Hospitality: Lula Cafe (seasonal American).
BRIGHT ONE ✨
Chicago love and work ethic propel truck driver turned fashion designer
Reporting by Emmanuel Camarillo
Emmanuel Cabrera’s designs hang on a rack in his Melrose Park studio like championship banners, each a celebration of his influences and accomplishments on the unlikely route from truck driver to fashion runway.
He dropped out of high school as a junior to follow his father and grandfather driving trucks. He stopped driving full-time by age 23. Rudderless, Cabrera left his hometown Melrose Park for the unfamiliar backdrop of the Appalachian Mountains and the East Coast in search of direction. He ended up living out of his car in New Orleans.
It was in New Orleans where Cabrera had a phone call with his father that altered his life path, igniting a passion that he shaped into a career unthinkable in his days of driving a truck. He drove back to Melrose Park, opened a truck supply shop and taught himself to sew.
Cabrera, 35, runs street wear and accessories brand Gente Fina, Spanish for fine people. The name honors the resilience and work ethic of Latino culture and immigrants like his parents.
“That’s who I am, that’s how I grew up living, seeing the struggle with my own eyes,” Cabrera said.
Established in 2018, his brand is inspired by work wear, western wear, Mexican tradition, hip-hop culture and Chicago, where Cabrera lives. He counts pro athletes and musical stars as customers.
The brand debuted in February at New York Fashion Week, a spot Cabrera earned by winning a fashion show competition last year in Durango, Mexico, his family’s native region. Cabrera said New York served as validation of his growth as a designer.
“It was such a wonderful experience,” Cabrera said. “To see people in the game that have been doing it for decades come by and say, ‘This is amazing.’ It really showed that we got something special here and that I belong in those rooms.”
YOUR DAILY QUESTION ☕️
Today’s question is inspired by a recent post on X from Chicago Tribune reporter Kori Rumore Finley: What’s a piece of Chicago lore every young transplant should know about?
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