Dan Lira speaks at the Commercial Avenue visioning meeting.
Great Cities Institute’s planning process for Commercial Avenue in South Chicago is mentioned in article that quotes Dan Lira, executive director of the South Chicago Chamber of Commerce.
They’re moving forward with the plan the community has been putting together for more than a year to touch up the neighborhood’s business district – Commercial Avenue.
Commercial Avenue is one of the city’s oldest business hubs. Some businesses have been situated along the strip – which runs from South Chicago Avenue to 83rd, although the majority is between there and 87th – since the late 1800s. If you grew up in South Chicago or one of the neighboring communities – Bush, Vet’s Park, Calumet Heights or South Deering – you went “uptown” to Commercial to buy the latest clothes, visit your doctor or do banking.
But with age comes wear and tear. The district could stand to be gussied up some, and the community knows it. So the chamber has been working in partnership with the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois at Chicago to revitalize the district.
The chamber’s executive board, other business leaders, folks from community organizations and interested residents have been getting together almost weekly to figure out how they want to improve Commercial Avenue.
