Two game-changing developments may be coming to Chicago’s farthest southside communities as a result of grant applications now in for City review and approval. Anthony A. Beale, Alderman of the 9th Ward, recently announced his support of the grant applications for a full-service grocery store and a full-service 101-room hotel, both being developed by Black-owned companies.
The long-desired grocery store hopes to be sited at 130th Street and Eberhardt Avenue and will be owned by Yellow Banana, which operates six Save A Lot stores throughout Chicago, and will provide access to much needed nutritious and affordable foods for the Altgeld Gardens community and thousands of residents in other outlying neighborhoods for whom the nearest grocery store has been miles away.
The second, by the Pullman Hotel Group, led by Chicago business leader Andre Garner, has plans to build a new four-story Hampton by Hilton Hotel at 111th and Doty that will serve the far south side in general, and enhance visitors’ options for visiting the National Monument, Nature Preserve, Harborside, and other sites in the historic Pullman/Calumet basin area.
“These are two much-needed additions to the Far South Side,” said Alderman Beale. “One will eliminate a food desert that now exists for 100,000 people that will improve their quality of life. The other will bring the first nationally branded hotel to historic Pullman and will add to the vibrancy and revitalization of the neighborhood and the Lake Calumet Region. We know from experience that development that brings needed amenities and jobs to our communities is good for everyone and all parts of the city.”
Yellow Banana and the Pullman Hotel Group applied for development grants from the Chicago Recovery Plan and the City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development. Yellow Banana is proposing to build a new 10,000 square-foot, stand-alone, grocery store at the corner of 130th Street and Eberhardt Avenue in Altgeld Gardens. Besides bringing affordable nutritious food to the 100,000 people living within three miles of the store’s site, it will create around 20 full-time jobs. The grant will help Yellow Banana acquire the property.
“We’re thrilled at the opportunity to partner with the City of Chicago in the delivery of quality food brands at affordable prices to Altgeld Gardens and neighboring communities, which have for far too long lacked access to healthy, affordable food,” said Michael Nance, co-founder of Yellow Banana. “As we have taken even greater roots in Chicago, we’re proud to be extending our mission to Chicago’s Far South Side.
“While it’s been a long time coming, as a 31-year resident I am grateful that our voices finally have been heard, and that Yellow Banana is hopefully bringing us the grocery store that we have long needed and asked for,” said Adela Bass, a resident on the Far South Side.
While Yellow Banana addresses a long-felt absence, the Pullman Hotel Group proposal represents the first large hotel development ever proposed for the area. On the Commissioner of Planning and Development’s desk is a proposal to build the first-ever nationally branded hotel in Chicago’s historic Pullman community. The proposed 101-room hotel, adjacent to the Pullman National Monument and Pullman Park, home to Gotham Greens, Method, SC Johnson, a Whole Foods Distribution Center, Pullman Community Center, Amazon, and other businesses and attractions in the area, will serve many of the more than 300,000 expected annual visitors to the community.
The proposed hotel will create 25 jobs and feature a business center, exercise room, in-door pool, and on-site surface parking. The Hotel Group is aiming to use the Chicago Recovery grant to assist with acquiring the vacant four-acre property on the former Ryerson Steel site from Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives and to construct the new 62,000 square-foot complex.
“We could not be more excited about a project,” said Andre F. Garner, Managing Partner, Pullman Hotel Group. “Finally, there will be a place that serves visitors to the National Monument, Harborside, the City’s Port and the scores of critical businesses and industries in the area.”
About Yellow Banana, LLC:
Yellow Banana us a retail grocery platform that operates 38 stores under the Save A Lot banner across the Cleveland, Chicago, Milwaukee, Jacksonville, and Dallas metropolitan areas. Founded in 2021, Yellow Banana endeavors to deliver essential nutrition to working families at affordable prices. Learn more at www.yellow-banana-com. It’s Save A Lot locations in Chicago are in West Garfield Park, West Lawn, Woodlawn, South Chicago, Calumet Heights, and Washington Heights.
About the Pullman Hotel Group, LLC:
The Pullman Hotel Group, LLC is a Chicago-based business focused on expanding access to high quality, nationally branded lodging options in communities bereft of such options.
