Mayor Rahm Emanuel and developers broke ground yesterday on The Hatchery, a food business incubator in East Garfield Park. The $34M, 67K SF project will be completed late next year, repurposing an existing building built in the 1920s and adding a new 57K SF ground-up development. It will be home to food and beverage entrepreneurs seeking to scale their businesses.

The Hatchery is a joint venture between nonprofit community groups Accion Chicago, the Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago and IFF Chicago, which is serving as the development partner. The Hatchery will serve as Accion Chicago's new headquarters, giving it direct access to small-business loans and support programs to the Hatchery's tenants, as well as residents in the surrounding communities.

The Hatchery will feature 56 private kitchens ranging between 250 SF and 400 SF. There will also be a large shared kitchen, co-working and multifunction space, a loading dock and bulk storage. One of The Hatchery's first tenants is celebrity chef Rick Bayless, who will be running a culinary training program for high school and college students seeking to enter the restaurant industry.

The 3.5-acre site at Lake Street and Kedzie Avenue is adjacent to CTA's Green Line, and was sold to the joint venture by the City of Chicago for $1. The development is being financed in part with $7M in tax incentives.