Led by Carlos Nelson of the Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation, Erika Allen of Urban Growers Collective, and Jason Feldman of Green Era Partners, the Always Growing, Auburn Gresham team is composed of three investment-ready capital projects poised to reinvigorate this South Side, predominantly Black neighborhood back into a thriving destination. The Healthy Lifestyle Hub and Green Era Renewable Energy and Urban Farm Campus are projects that come directly from Auburn Gresham’s community-driven Quality-of-Life Plan.

To achieve the goals of the community plan, the projects will yield tremendous economic growth for the neighborhood. The Healthy Lifestyle Hub provides more than 200 construction and 300 professional jobs, equitable access to health care, and significant entrepreneurial opportunities. The Urban Farm Campus will put Chicago’s South Side on the map for the green economy with a greenhouse space that will grow an estimated 14,000 – 26,000 pounds of food annually. The campus will also bring needed supportive services to the neighborhood and transform two vacant city blocks into vibrant and welcoming community spaces.

Included on the Urban Farm campus is the Midwest’s first self-sustainable anaerobic digester. It will divert millions of pounds of food waste from landfills and produce clean energy and nutrient-rich compost.

Perhaps most exciting of all, the Auburn Gresham team has a unique initiative structure, which gives the Greater Auburn Gresham Development Corporation a financial stake in the Urban Farm Campus’ anaerobic digester enterprise and allows for a share of its profits to be reinvested into the community. 

Auburn Gresham’s initiative represents strong and dedicated local leadership, a plan with deep roots in the community, and projects that respond to the needs of residents and set the stage for additional investment.