In March, the Southside Community Optimal Redevelopment Enterprise (SCORE) Community Development Entity (CDE) awarded a total of $15 million in New Markets Tax Credits (NMTC) to Goodwill Industries of Michiana and CED Food LLC. In alignment with SCORE’s mission to invest in operating businesses, education and community facilities that will provide living wage jobs in highly distressed and low-income communities, the NMTC allocation will be used to support job creation, program development and building revitalization for these organizations.
Goodwill Industries of Michiana, Inc., a division of Goodwill Industries International, Inc., is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that has provided community-based programs and job training to residents of Northwest Indiana, Southwest Michigan and Southeast Chicagoland since 1936. The $9 million allocation from SCORE will support the construction of a new 105,000-square-foot facility in Gary, Indiana to replace its current 30,000-square-foot center. In addition to a retail thrift store, the facility will be home to the Goodwill Excel Center, a tuition-free adult high school offering public transportation assistance and on-site child care, and the Community Career Center, which will offer job readiness programming including resume preparation, job search techniques and digital skills.
Currently employing more than 700 local residents, the new Goodwill Michiana facility is estimated to create an additional 43 full-time temporary construction jobs and 38 new full-time equivalent jobs. In recent years, the area has experienced significant decline in industrial job opportunities, once the cornerstone of Gary’s economy.
CED Food LLC will utilize its $6 million NMTC award to repurpose a 117,188-square-foot manufacturing property in Chicago’s Belmont-Cragin neighborhood into Amped Kitchens Chicago, a multi-tenant food manufacturing complex. Amped Kitchens Chicago tenants will have exclusive access to one of 62 turnkey wholesale-ready food production kitchens and shared essential amenities, such as flexible storage areas and on-site logistics. Building on a business model proven in Los Angeles, the goal of the organization is to provide local and entrepreneurial food manufacturers with high-quality facilities at an affordable price along with an expedited government approval process. Once completed, the project anticipates to bring more than 260 quality and accessible jobs to the neighborhood while developing new businesses and helping existing businesses thrive in the local community.
SCORE’s controlling entity, McCaffery Interests, was founded in 1990 with a mission to transform urban neighborhoods in ways that inspire community, create opportunities and foster the ideals of smart growth. McCaffery has completed and managed projects in excess of 20 million square feet and more than $2 billion in value through its urban revitalization efforts. SCORE was created to further support this mission.