CHICAGO — The first of Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s INVEST South/West housing developments broke ground Wednesday morning.

According to the initiative’s website, Evergreen Imagine is a mixed-use development consisting of two buildings going up on vacant land. The first, at 79th and Green, is set to contain 28 residential units and a ground-floor commercial space. The second, at 79th and Halsted, is planned to contain 30 residential units and another ground-floor commercial space.

A city release from February stated, “development costs will total roughly $36.7 million. In addition to the use of tax-exempt bonds and the 4% tax credit equity generated from the bonds, other funding will consist of City of Chicago multi-family loan funds, TIF funds, a first mortgage, a seller note, funding from ComEd, a deferred developer fee, and Donation Tax credits generated from the donation of City-owned land.”

Lightfoot first announced her initiative when she took office in 2019 as a way to revive some of the city’s struggling neighborhoods. The goal was to combine the resources of city departments with community and corporate partnerships.

The first three approved projects were announced in March 2021 and included the apartments in Auburn Gresham. The other two winning proposals plan to rehab the historic Laramie Bank Building in the Austin neighborhood, and an eco-food hub in the Englewood neighborhood.

In addition to the Auburn Gresham, Austin, and Englewood neighborhoods, INVEST South/West aims to bring revitalization to the Bronzeville, New City, North Lawndale, Humboldt Park, Greater Roseland, South Chicago, and South Shore neighborhoods.