Green Exchange of Chicago has become a hub for the Midwestern “green economy.” EDAC client, North Branch Works (previously known as the Local Economic and Employment Development Council- LEED), leveraged funding from the Office of Community Services (OCS) to encourage the growth of emerging, “green” businesses willing to target new positions to local, low-income residents who had been left outside of the economic mainstream. These companies come from a variety of industries including: childcare, food services, finance and manufacturing. The former factory building that houses Green Exchange underwent a $53 million conversion, including $15 million in financing from a Section 108 loan from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Green Exchange has garnered significant national attention including a visit by a White House delegation featuring Dr. Jill Biden, the wife of the Vice President, and Don Graves, Executive Director of the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness.