CCAC Hears From Scott Goodman, Farpoint Development

CCAC would like to thank Thomas D. McElroy II, Principal & CEO, Level-(1) Global Solutions LLC, for hosting CCAC’s monthly luncheon on Tuesday, October 9th at Taste 222. Before the keynote presentation, Don Thompson, Founder & CEO, Cleveland Avenue, greeted CCAC members and he shared a brief overview of Cleveland Avenue and its focus areas including food tech and beverage, consumer & biometric research, and The Academy Group, which is an organization that assists children starting from 3rd grade upon graduation from college on access and opportunity. With 11 companies currently in their portfolio, and roughly a $20 million-dollar fund, Cleveland Avenue creates viable businesses for the long-term benefit of investors, entrepreneurs, and neighborhoods.

The membership then heard from Scott Goodman, Founding Principal, Farpoint Development.  Goodman shared stories about his experiences in real estate development including his success with investor relations, procurement of financing and equity and transaction structuring. Farpoint Development is the product of 30-plus years’ experience in creating some of Chicago’s most iconic and game-changing commercial office projects.

Showcasing his remarks alongside a visual presentation, Goodman spoke on his work in Chicago helping to re-imagine and develop various areas of our city, including the West Loop, the Uptown Theater and its surrounding area, and the Burnham Lakefront project in Bronzeville. His stated that his goal is to, “try to find real estate developments in emerging markets or in markets that are on the path of innovation.”

Don Thompson, Founder & CEO, Cleveland Avenue, provides welcoming remarks to Taste 222

(L:R) Thomas McElroy, Prinicpal & CEO, Level-(1) Global Solutions; Kelly O'Brien, Executive Director, CCAC; and Scott Goodman, Founding Principal, Farpoint Development.

(L:R) Steve Galler, Executive Vice President & General Counsel, The Habitat Company; Thomas McElroy, Principal & CEO, Level-(1) Global Solutions; Dr. Suzet McKinney, Executive Director, Illinois Medical District; Scott Goodman, Founding Principal, Farpoint Development; and  Douglas Voigt, Partner, Urban Design and Planning, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP.

Goodman prefaced his remarks by saying, “I am going to be speaking about my perspective as a developer who reimagines neighborhoods. Neighborhoods have a history as well as possibly a present vibrant community- oftentimes it is thinking about harnessing both elements, assessing what resources or buildings an area needs, and then creating compelling spaces for businesses and investment.” Goodman continued, “I realize I am speaking to a group with similar goals. As the Chicago Central Area Committee, you have played a visionary role in developing the Chicago Central Area Plan from 2003 onward. It’s very much your advocacy that has helped to foster thriving development in the Central Business District and adjacent neighborhoods. It’s amazing to think how much the city has grown with your group involved.”

During his time at Sterling Bay, Goodman stated he was heavily involved in reimagining the industrial and food-oriented buildings of the West Loop. For example, the new Chicago Google building, a prominent anchor of the West Loop, Goodman said, “the challenge with  redeveloping the West Loop area was to retain its character, including brick buildings, the large glass windows, and the other unique design elements. We found it important to work with the City of Chicago to create design guidelines.”

When asked about the Uptown Theater, Goodman expressed, “we are very excited about being involved in the Uptown Theater renovation and redevelopment. It will act as an anchor for a broader strategy and plan for a music and entertainment district.” The U.S. Government and the City of Chicago invested $2.2 billion in the Red Line expansion and Farpoint Development is working to amplify past economic development efforts, including the Wilson red line station south of the Uptown Theater. According to Goodman, the Uptown Theatre expansion has been long overdue. “It’s been held back by a lot of different things including high density population, low median income, and residency issues.  “Uptown Theater has sat vacant for 30 years and used to be a beacon of the neighborhood. Reimagining neighborhoods means harnessing past, present and future efforts in a unified way to benefit residents and visitors,” Goodman stated. Overall, many neighborhoods have large anchors, such as old retail spaces or theaters that have fallen into neglect, Farpoint Development’s belief is that the “stewardship of those assets and imaginative new uses can help ignite intersections, districts and communities including vibrant restaurants before concerts, smaller artistic spaces, and a bevy of programming at Uptown Theater.”

In 2017, Farpoint Development was one of several developers chosen as the group to rethink the Michael Reese Hospital site, also known as the Burnham Lakefront. Providing a brief history, the Michael Reese site has been vacant since 2009, when the City bought it as a bid for the Olympics. CCAC members, including Draper & Kramer, Level-(1) Global Solutions, and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, along with other organizations and community groups were winners on the RFP. Goodman expressed, “this requires a lot of reimagining. It is a combination of the City of Chicago land in the center, MPEA’s Marshalling Yards to the east, and Draper and Kramer’s land to the west. It will be a longer project cycle, over 10-15 years. This timeline allows us to continuously collect ideas and proposals from different stakeholders, ranging from community groups in Bronzeville and the surrounding neighborhoods, and the needs of the city and global markets.”

Goodman discussed the new initiative named the Qualified Opportunity Zones (QOZ). The QOZ program was created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and is a way to induce long-term investment into low-income communities through tax incentives. In the most simplified form, QOZ investors roll the proceeds of a capital gain sale into a QOZ Fund within 180 days of their capital gain event. The investor gets two tax benefits:

“This is a really powerful tool”, Goodman expressed, “it takes people with money and encourages behaviors so that they will create investment in communities where they may have not previously considered. We believe that the QOZ program is a revolutionary investment product for those with a long-term investment horizon.” Regarding Chicago and the central area, Goodman suggested starting a fund surrounding qualified opportunity zones beyond the Loop and central area for sites like Michael Reese and CSX. 

Concluding his remarks, Goodman expressed his desire to continue making an impact and said, “As the West Loop and Uptown areas evolve over time, I am committed to doing my best to create great physical spaces for Chicago to thrive.”

 October 9th CCAC Luncheon audience

Tuesday, November 13, 2018 at Roosevelt University

Highlights from Day 2 of the 2018 CCAC River Sprint

The CCAC Young Leaders 2018 Sprint continued with stakeholder interviews on Friday, September 28th in the office of Perkins+ Will. The team participants heard from leaders within the housing, community & economic development, and transportation industry on their perspectives of how to redevlop multiple sites along the Chicago River with special focus on equity, resiliency, and connectivity. 

(L:R) Andrew Moddrell, Partner, PORT Urbanism; Stacey Meekins, Principal & Director of Transportation Planning, Sam Schwartz Engineering; Andrew Sargis, Chief of Operations, Chicago Water Taxi; Steve Simmons, Trail Advocacy Manager, Active Transportation Alliance; and Keith Privett, Coordinating Planner, Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT).

(L:R) Kim Wasserman, Executive Director, Little Village Environmental Justice Organization (LVEJO); David Wu, Executive Director, Ping Tom Park; Chloe Gurin-Sands, Associate, Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC); Eleanor Gorski, Bureau Chief, Bureau of Planning, Historic Preservation and Sustainability, City of Chicago; and James Burns, President & Founder, South Branch Park Advisory Council.

(L:R) Bob Foster, Planning & Design Manager II, Chicago Housing Authority; Molly Ekerdt, Vice President, Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH); Ann Thompson, Senior Vice President, Architecture and Design, Related Midwest; and Juan Moreno, President & Founder, JGMA

2018 CCAC River Sprint "Reveal and Reception" Highlights 

 2018 CCAC Sprint Team Members

The CCAC Sprint "Reveal and Reception" occured on Friday, October 5th in the office of Perkins+ Will. The forty plus multidisciplinary team members presented their final ideas and design concepts that addressed access on the south branch of the Chicago River.  

Acknowledgements
CCAC would like to thank the Sprint Organizers: Andrew Broderick, Perkins + Will, and Aaron Spiering, JGMA.

We would also like to thank the Sprint Planning Committee: Marisa Doherty, The Habitat Company; Katie Martin, BatesForum; and Kerrie Mistry, Lothan Van Hook Destefano Architecture.

Special thank you to our 2018 Sprint Sponsors for their support of our signature event. Thank you to:

A follow-up committee for the 2018 Sprint is being formed to explore and execute next steps. For additional information, please e-mail CCAC Executive Director, Kelly O'Brien, kobrien@ccac.org.

Chicago Skyway Canopy Rehabilitation Project Grand Re-Opening

 (L:R) Lluis Sererols, Chief of Staff, Chicago Skyway; Kelly O'Brien, Executive Director, CCAC; Fernando Redondo, CEO, Chicago Skyway; and Kirk Dillard, Chairman, Chicago Skyway.

CCAC Member, Chicago Skyway, celebrated the completion of the Chicago Skyway Canopy Rehabilitation Project with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, October 25, 2018. 

The $6 million dollar project, located on the eastbound toll plaza, is the work of Skidmore, Owings, Merrill, LLP (SOM). Hailed as “ultra-modern” when the plaza originally opened in 1958, the renovation honors the original design while incorporating modern tolling technology, lighting, and signage.

Guest speakers included former IL State Senator and Chicago Skyway Chairman, Kirk Dillard, along with SOM Design Partner, Scott Duncan. 

For more information, please visit: www.chicagoskyway.org

Roosevelt University

The Chicago Central Area Committee is leading the preparation of a new strategy for Chicago’s Central City. It will take the form of a Central City Investment Framework. This will be a rapid, focused initiative over 6 months intended to focus attention on locations where an integrated approach can leverage greater investment. This is also an opportunity to address how Central City growth can be linked to neighborhoods and set a clear path for enhancements that can benefit all of Chicago. 

Please mark your calendars for Wednesday, December 5th, from 8:30 am - 1:00 pm at Roosevelt University, for the Chicago Central City Strategy Roundtable that will discuss connectivity, economic development, and growth in the City as an investment framework.

More details to follow. If you are interested in joining this effort, please contact CCAC Executive Director, Kelly O'Brien, kobrien@ccac.org.

Brian Bernardoni, Honored at Cook County's Italian-American Heritage Celebration

CCAC Member, Brian Bernardoni, Senior Director of Government Affairs and Public Policy, Chicago Association of Realtors, was honored for his "Excellence in Leadership" at the 2018 Cook County Italian-American Heritage Month Celebration. The award was presented by Dorothy Brown, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County on Friday, October 26, 2018.

Humbly accepting the award, Brian Bernardoni stated, "It has long been an honor to serve in various board and leadership capacities in Cook County’s civic, business, cultural, ethnic, sporting, political, law enforcement and social service community since 1984.  I am reminded always there is so much more work to do to make this region a great place to live, work and play and moreover a place where equality and fairness are our highest virtues.  Any honor I receive truly is shared with all of those organizations, leaders, executives and volunteers which let me be part of something bigger than myself."

Congratulations to Brian Bernardoni!

For more information, please visit: www.chicagorealtor.com

Tuesday, December 11, 2018

Join us for the CCAC December Meeting and Holiday Reception to be held on Tuesday, December 11, 2018 at the office of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP, 161 N. Clark Street, Suite 4300, Chicago, IL 60601. Doors will open at 5:00 pm and the program will begin at 5:30 pm.

All CCAC Members and Young Leaders are invited to attend this meeting and holiday reception. Please join us for our last meeting for the year 2018!

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