Chicago Market Newsletter — December 2024

Another Great Uptown Winter Market

We were glad to be able to partner with the Uptown Chamber of Commerce again to host the Uptown Winter Market this past week. 

The room was full of terrific vendors, including a few of our Uptown Farmers Market friends, and nearly 1700 people attended. There was live music, caroling, Panda Claus selfies, and more. 

Thanks to all our volunteers who made it happen!

Follow along on the process of your store with this visual of our Timeline. 

As reported to you last month, our first round of construction bids came in too high. The construction management firm we connected with recently has strong relationships with local contractors and they are collecting bids right now from new general contractors and sub-contractors. Contractors were out last week and again today to walk through our site to ensure their bids align to both drawings and onsite realities. Bids are due this month.

PERMIT
We understand our construction permit is close, but it needs to list our actual contractors, so once we have those chosen, permitting can get finalized.

BANK LOAN
Both bank loan and TIF funding will close once they see that our construction budget matches our bids from contractors.

No one on our team is happy about these delays, but a project like ours is complicated and the Board is working diligently on behalf of Owners to get our store open. Thank you for understanding the complexities and for continuing to support your Co-op.

 

• Board Meeting — December 10, 7-9:00pm
• Board Meeting — January 14, 7-9:00pm

News from Our Business Owners

Collective Resource Compost Cooperative

Give the gift of composting! Collective Resource Compost Cooperative has gift certificates that can be used for their composting service, countertop collection containers, zero waste bags, and co-op ownership! There aren’t too many gifts that can help mitigate climate like this one does. More info here on their website.

Irpino Real Estate
IRPINO Real Estate Presents their Local Business Spotlight series featuring local businesses in Chicago’s Uptown and Buena Park neighborhoods. The latest profiles Department of Sugar, which creates sweets while trying to maintain a sustainable, local, and fair trade supply chain.

Keep It Savory Salt Co
Keep It Savory Salt Co is thrilled to announce that our Garlic Scape salt has won an Editor’s Top Pick Sustainability Award from Food & Beverage magazine! So delicious…and good for our community and planet–check us out on page 56. As always, we are grateful to the good folks at Windy City Harvest for growing our gorgeous scapes! It’s a privilege to be a part of such a wonderful community on Chicago's West Side.

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Get Involved

Volunteer - there are ways to help with event planning, volunteer coordination, parking lot clean up help, and social media marketing. Email to learn more.

Invest in Preferred Shares now—you benefit and your Co-op can lower its reliance on bank debt. 

 

Not up for investing but want to help your Co-op financially?

• Donate any amount here. (can be tax-deductible and recurring)
• Level Up your Ownership if you're not already a Cultivating Owner.
• Donate to our Ownership Grant Program.