Community Investment Corporation

Community Investment Corporation (CIC), is a Community Development Financial Institution whose mission is to revitalize neighborhoods through innovative financing, programs, and policy leadership. As part of its mission, CIC houses The Preservation Compact, a collaborative effort formed in 2007 to respond to growing losses in the region’s affordable rental housing. By maintaining its role as facilitator of the Preservation Compact, CIC will continue to support efforts to highlight the importance of and facilitate the preservation of affordable rental housing throughout Cook County. This final award to CIC for the Preservation Compact enables it to oversee the leadership of a the group of stakeholder organizations that comprise the preservation effort in Cook County as it broaden its base of funders.

A Chicago-area community lender, the Community Investment Corporation works closely with local municipalities and building owners to preserve multifamily rental properties. The organization hosts The Preservation Compact, which is a Foundation-supported effort to raise awareness about the value of rental housing and to create a climate and mechanisms through which public, private, and non-profit sectors work together to stem the loss of affordable rental housing units in Cook County. The grant provides the resources to ensure that the Preservation Compact is led by a respected organization in the housing industry; that its activities are welllcoordinated and supported by adequate staff; and that it will continue to exert growing influence in local and regional housing policy discussions as a national example of preservation leadership.

Community Investment Corporation is a non-profit community development financial institution dedicated to improving Chicago communities through investment in affordable housing and support for owners and operators of multi-family rental properties. It will use this program-related investment to create a new loan product to provide long-term financing for very small rental buildings in low- and moderate-income Chicago and Cook County communities: a new $22-million fund that is expected to provide second mortgages for buildings comprising approximately 700 rental units over the next three years, filling a persistent market gap and strengthening a crucial segment of Chicago’s affordable housing stock.

The Community Investment Corporation, a Chicagoland community lender, works with local municipalities to address troubled multifamily properties and mentors property owners seeking to supply affordable rental housing. It is the managing partner of The Preservation Compact - which raises awareness about affordable rental housing’s value and creates a climate in which public, private, and non-profit sectors work together to stem affordable rental housing loss in Cook County. The Corporation will use this grant to help the Compact continue to exert growing influence in local and regional housing policy discussions and maintain its position as a national example of preservation leadership.

This grant to the Community Investment Corporation will allow CIC to create a loan loss reserve at its affiliate organization, Community Initiatives, Inc., so that it will be able to expand its current activities in the City of Chicago’s Troubled Buildings Initiative and leverage additional capital. This additional borrowing capacity will allow CIC to expand its reach and undertake additional acquisitions of troubled multifamily properties and innovate around the issue of foreclosures.