SCORE Allocates $13 Million to Support Medical and Community Needs in Chicago and Northern Indiana
The Southside Community Optimal Redevelopment Enterprise (SCORE) is proud to announce the appropriation of a total of $13 million in New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocation to the creation of a Level 1 trauma center on Chicago’s south side and a comprehensive community services center in Lafayette, Indiana.
A total of $6 million NMTCs has been awarded to The University of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC) to support the construction of a 46,800-square-foot LEED-certified emergency Level 1 Trauma Center—the only of its kind in Chicago. Located within a severely distressed, medically underserved area of Chicago’s south side, with 41 treatment stations, four trauma resuscitation bays, two radiographic imaging rooms, and one CT room, the center will provide total care for every aspect of an injury.
Construction of the facility is anticipated to generate 65 full-time jobs. When stabilized, the trauma center will create 101 full-time jobs, 126 full-time equivalent jobs, including all benefits, and is estimated to provide 86,220 greater south side patients with emergency and trauma care and specialty health services each year.
This UCMC Emergency Department Expansion is part of the organization’s Get CARE integrated plan to increase community access to vital health services within UCMC’s campus. The trauma center is an integral component of the Get CARE mission to increase the number of medical-surgical beds by 40%, the number of intensive care beds available by 16%, and create 1,000 new jobs and 400 construction jobs by June 2022.
The remaining $7 million NMTCs will be awarded to the Northend Community Center, a to-be-constructed, multi-facility, faith-based community center campus located in Lafayette, Indiana. In addition to reviving a blighted six-acre parcel, the new 97,000-square-foot campus will provide operating space across three-structures for 11 community partners which offer programs and services for at-risk and underserved populations in and around north Lafayette. Partners include Carworks, which provides automotive services to those in financial need, and Flour Mill Bakery Café, a full-service café that will employ unskilled workers and teach them culinary and restaurant management skills. The center will also house two gymnasiums, two exercise classrooms, a walking track, indoor public pool, and a fitness center focused on senior citizen health.
The project is estimated to generate 84 full-time construction jobs, 25 full-time equivalent jobs and 58 retained full-time equivalent jobs, and will support three non-profit organizations that will provide job training, employment assistance and vocational training to low-income and un/underemployed area residents.
Northend Community Center will be facilitated by Faith Ministries and its subsidiary, Faith Community Development Corporation, which aims to encourage the growth and stability of Greater Lafayette communities through leadership and economic development, community organization, and development of affordable housing.
SCORE was awarded $65 million in NMTCs from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund during the 2015/2016 distribution. Through its application process, SCORE seeks to invest NMTCs in operating business, community-driven education, healthcare facilities, and fresh food anchored retail that will provide living wage jobs in highly distressed and low-income communities in Illinois and Indiana. Sponsored by McCaffery Interests, SCORE aligns with the company’s founding mission to transform urban neighborhoods in ways that inspire community, create opportunities and foster the ideals of smart growth. Over the past 5 years, McCaffery Interests has invested $153 million and facilitated an additional $345.8 million of investments into urban revitalization efforts. More than 70% of these projects have been in disadvantaged communities.