Update: Chicago Recovery Grant 

When we last wrote to you, we mentioned that we were in the process of applying for the Chicago Recovery Grant which allows local governments to distribute grants as part of the American Rescue Plan Act. We're excited to share that we’ve submitted our application for $4.9 million in funding and we’re hopeful that we will receive early feedback on our application in the next couple of months. 

 

The work required to pull together the grant application was significant and required that we have accurate cost estimates for the buildout of the store. Over several weeks, our GM, members of the grant submission team, and our partner, StoreMasters, worked with several contractors to get up-to-date quotes for the construction and equipment costs associated with the project. 

 

As you can imagine, the effects of the pandemic are still being felt in all parts of our economy and Chicago Market is no exception. Inflation and increased costs related to supply chain pressures have driven up construction costs across the country and based on our recent construction bids, we estimate that the buildout for our project has increased by roughly $4 million. The good news is that a grant opportunity like the Chicago Recovery Grant will go a long way to offsetting these increased costs...and we're researching others.

 

Update: Project Funding 

So where does that leave us? 

 

Well, we're excited to share that between the funds we’ve already raised, and those that we have significant confidence in obtaining, we are on track toward roughly 75% of the capital needed to build out Chicago Market. 

 

Below, we've shown our progress against our funding sources by category. The dark blue represents what we’ve already secured, the light blue shows funds we’re actively trying to close, and the white shows our remaining gap.