(a) The Department shall administer the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund and all projects funded under this chapter. Each Group II Award shall require City Council approval. The Department may disburse Group I Awards through procedures established by rule, subject to the Group I Program Funding Limit; provided, that at the request of the Department, such grants may be disbursed by the Commissioner of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection. The selection of projects will be informed by community-based planning processes, such as Chicago Neighborhoods Now. Priority will be given to commercial projects that:
(i) have a positive, catalytic impact on a commercial corridor;
(ii) provide goods or services where those goods or services are lacking;
(iii) support a new or expanding small business;
(iv) have the potential to leverage other resources (private, state, federal);
(v) show a clear path to financial closing and construction start;
(vi) commit to hiring from qualified investment areas; and
(vii) are economically viable and sustainable.
(b) The Commissioner is authorized to enter into grant agreements and all other agreements and ancillary documents necessary to implement this chapter, to prescribe application forms and other forms necessary to collect relevant information concerning participants and projects utilizing the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund, and to adopt such rules as the Commissioner may deem necessary for the proper implementation, administration, and enforcement of this chapter, including without limitation, rules setting forth criteria and guidelines for the selection of projects and disbursement of funds in a fair and equitable manner.
(c) The Commissioner shall post on the Department's website an annual report detailing the receipt and expenditure of funds from the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund.
(d) Subject to the availability of duly appropriated funds, the Group I Program Funding Limit shall be $35,500,000.00 as of the effective date of this amendatory ordinance of 2020, unless such amount is increased or decreased by appropriate action of the City Council.
(Added Coun. J. 5-18-16, p. 24993, § 2; Amend Coun. J. 9-6-17, p. 54823, § 2; Amend Coun. J. 2-19-20, p. 14012, § 9)