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The Chicago Community Loan Fund (CCLF) is a nonprofit agency that finances community-based development projects. It provides loans and technical assistance throughout metropolitan Chicago, but, has three focus communities in the city: North Lawndale, Englewood, and Woodlawn.

Located at 29 E. Madison, Suite 1700 in Chicago, CCLF, manages over $17 million in assets and provides loans to nonprofit and forprofit companies. In 2002, CCLF made North Lawndale their high priority area to help the community become prosperous again as it was 50 years ago, said executive director Calvin Brinson Holmes. The agency has made 12 loans to North Lawndale-based projects that totaled close to $2 million.

More importantly, that $2 million in loans has leveraged an additional $14 million in investments, said Holmes. One such North Lawndale project that CCLF has financed is the Clair Christian United Methodist Church’s 62-unit affordable senior housing development near 14th and Pulaski. CCLF works with customers to plug the gaps in their financing so that they are successful, and their project is completed and sustainable over time.

“We do a substantial amount of predevelopment and bridge financing…early-end and first-end money,” said Holmes, “and then it’s followed on by larger construction and permanent financing from the bank, city, and/or the state.”

“An organization requesting financing can be very small (that is, a one-man or woman shop),” said Holmes, “but it has to be a corporation and it has to be engaged in some kind of community development such as affordable housing, a community facility, a commercial or retail building, or an industrial project.”

Although CCLF does not make loans to individuals to buy a home, it will make loans to a one-person real estate development firm who is building five homes. “We would make a predevelopment loan to that firm or a construction loan to that firm who is building homes that would be affordable to low and middle income people in the neighborhood. We are a brick and mortar lender, primarily,” said Holmes.

The agency does not finance loans to start small businesses. CCLF believes neighborhood-based agencies, developers, and businesspeople deserve the opportunity to shape the future of their neighborhood. In financing loans from $5,000 to $350,000 and more, they try to work with these customers who are often overlooked by traditional banks and other financial service providers.

“We essentially provide the right type of financing at the right time with pre-development and bridge financing being the products we are best known for,” said Holmes. “That type of money is really hard to come by because your customers are essentially asking us to make an investment in their project before they have finished their construction drawings; before they have all of the additional financing lined up; before they perhaps have even completed their market study.

“In fact, on a case-by-case basis, where other elements of a project’s feasibility are quite strong, the Chicago Community Loan Fund will include the cost of a professional market study in a predevelopment loan along side other early-stage development expenses. Such a loan can also allow a customer to hire an architect to design the project that they have in mind as well as pay a development consultant to help them think through the project and assemble construction and permanent financing to make sure that it is going to be successful. And that’s very early stage financing.

That’s why we say it’s the right loan at the right time.” CCLF partners with Fannie Mae and The Steans Family Foundation. For more information call 312/252- 0440 ext. 205, or visit www.cclfchicago.org. Clemolyn (Pennie) Brinson is a poet and writer for NLCN and Residents Journal. To comment on this article visit our weblog at: www.nlcn.org.