Community and Jobs

Intended to honor one of Chicago’s great communities, the redevelopment of Harper Court will have a profound impact on Hyde Park.

The community visioning efforts for the Harper Court site can be traced back to the creation of the 53 ^rd Street TIF District in 2001 and more recently to the 53 ^rd Street Vision Workshops that took place between 2007 and 2009. These workshops were sponsored by former 4 ^th Ward Alderman Toni Preckwinkle, the City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development (now Department of Housing and Economic Development, or DHED), the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP) and a coalition of local institutional and community organizations including the 53 ^rd Street TIF Advisory Council, the University of Chicago, the Hyde Park Chamber of Commerce, Hyde Park‐Kenwood Community Conference, Interfaith Open Communities and the South East Chicago Commission (SECC).

Job Creation

The first phase has generated over 500 union construction jobs. Approximately one third of the construction contracts associated with the project have been directed to minority and female businesses. Upon completion, Harper Court will generate approximately 250 permanent retail jobs and house nearly 500 office workers.

Local Impact

The estimated annual property taxes generated by the Harper Court project will be in excess of $1.0 million at project completion, growing to over $2.1 million by 2016. Similar projects have realized an increase in spending of 400%.

The redevelopment of Harper Court reflects a unique partnership between the public and private sectors. Harper Court Partners, LLC continues its dedication to ongoing community engagement through the 53 ^rd Street TIF Council and other community partners. For more information, contact Harper Court Partners, LLC and stay up to date with the latest Harper Court news and developments .

Career Opportunities

If you are a community resident who is interested in learning more about employment opportunities with any of the Harper Court businesses, please contact the 741 Collaborative. The 741 Collaborative is a partnership of local not-for-profit agencies with a mission to help community residents achieve self-sufficiency through increased access to public and private benefits, workforce training, financial education and employment opportunities. For more information, please visit www.741partners.org .