McKinley Park Neighborhood Plan

McKinley Park’s manufacturing district is home to a variety of industrial businesses that make it an important neighborhood economic center. There are a number of resources and assistance programs available to entrepreneurs, such as the City of Chicago’s Small Business Improvement Fund; however, many businesses owners are not aware of them. A potential partner in advocating for the neighborhood’s industrial base is the Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council. The organization serves McKinley Park’s CMD and the larger PMD, and is a delegate agency of the Chicago Department of Planning and Development’s Local Industrial Retention Initiative (LIRI) program. The LIRI program connects potential employees to workforce training programs, and provides economic development services to businesses located in and around industrial corridors. Available services include marketing and public incentives assistance, city service facilitation, as well as educational and networking opportunities. Connecting businesses to resources available through programs like LIRI would foster the CMD’s business community, and encourage entrepreneurship and innovation.

Create networking opportunities for resource sharing and business support

Networking and resource sharing opportunities are important tools for supporting small ventures and first-time entrepreneurs. In many instances, business incubators provide these services. McKinley Park’s 36Squared Business Incubator serves entrepreneurs by offering free trainings, connecting business owners to resources, and renting mixed-use spaces to interested tenants. In order to foster a supportive business environment in the CMD, regular networking events should be organized in partnership with the 36Squared Business Incubator and the Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council, to facilitate connections and collaboration between the neighborhood’s industrial businesses. Resource sharing within the CMD should be explored as a way to support small ventures and entrepreneurs, especially in buildings like 36Squared where multiple tenants work in close proximity to one another. Shared resources could include co-working spaces, shared commercial kitchens for food entrepreneurs, shipping and receiving services, as well as joint marketing and promotional assistance.

Develop a workforce training program with local operators

From "Institute Rolls Out Accredited Programs Toward High-Paying, In-Demand Jobs," published May 10, 2019, in the McKinley Park News.Growing McKinley Park’s industrial workforce is an important component of supporting the neighborhood’s industrial businesses. The city’s LIRI program offers a variety of workforce training assistance to industrial businesses in the CMD. MPDC should coordinate with the Back of the Yards Neighborhood Council to market available workforce development programs like TIFWorks to the neighborhood’s industrial and manufacturing firms. Another available workforce development resource is the National Latino Education Institute, which offers workforce development and job training services for various types of trades, including jobs in the energy and construction sectors. These existing resources should be marketed to the community through avenues such as workforce development resource fairs, and networking events for industrial businesses. Recommendation 8.4 under the Create a Resilient Community chapter provides more information on available workforce training resources.

Identify opportunities to locate space for startups and other ventures

Traditionally, manufacturing has needed at least 500 square feet of space per employee, which has left the CMD with large vacant spaces. This offers an opportunity for startup and other ventures to locate in the neighborhood’s manufacturing district. Sites like the two city-owned CMD buildings on Pershing Road have the potential to accommodate multiple firms and offer shared space, with room for startups to grow. The momentum from the C40 Reinventing Cities competition should be used to market these sites to potential entrepreneurs and light manufacturing businesses. Doing so would encourage the adaptive reuse of these historic spaces and support modern uses of the CMD. Recommendation 8.3 under the Create a Resilient Community chapter provides more information on marketing McKinley Park’s assets to potential entrepreneurs.