[r18tdi]

Thought this was an interesting read (for anyone with a Crain's sub):

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/comm...est-slow-start

Invest South/West program remains mostly a vision, without a single project under construction after three years
The mayor's signature economic development initiative has promised unprecedented public funds for blighted corridors. But without a project under construction after three years, it has yet to prove it's the cure for disinvestment.

... None of the city-spurred projects in the Invest South/West corridors has put shovels in the ground, well behind the goal set more than two years ago by the city's planning head to have the first few buildings fully financed and under construction within 18 months. The slow pace raises big questions about Invest South/West's effectiveness and ability to generate the broader, long-term ripple effects that Lightfoot hopes for.

Some developers and neighborhood residents also worry any projects that actually get built will only add to the list of developments that rely on public funding for life support while failing to reverse depopulation trends that have driven away a long list of national retailers. Whole Foods' April announcement that it would close its Englewood store—even as the city commits millions of dollars to an Invest South/West site on the same block—illustrated the persistence of long-standing problems plaguing the neighborhoods Lightfoot hopes to revitalize.