Emanuel To Unveil Program Wednesday
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel will formally unveil
a new initiative on Wednesday designed to provide commercial developers with
incentives to rent their vacant retail spaces to small businesses. The goal of
the program, called “Up the Block,” is to reduce ground-floor vacancies and
make it easier for small businesses to gain storefront locations. Chicago will
reduce red tape to increase the speed at which permits and business licenses
are issued, provide priority access to microloans, and aid with marketing
efforts. Students from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management will
help participants develop business plans. The effort will start by allowing
small businesses to compete to occupy pairs of vacant storefronts in properties
in Uptown. City officials say they are working with other developers to expand
the program city-wide.
Further Reading:
The Chicago
Sun-Times
reports on the new program.
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