Emerald South coordinates investment and fosters growth!

The Emerald South Economic Development Collaborative (ESEDC) is a nonprofit organization on Chicago’s mid-South Side that coordinates investment and fosters growth to benefit local residents and business owners. Its efforts are largely focused on the neighborhoods of Washington Park, Woodlawn, and South Shore. ESEDC’s work leverages both public and private investment to revitalize historically disinvested communities.

Emerald South Mission and strategy: ESEDC’s mission is to “attract and coordinate investment through community convening and collaborative partnerships that increase local ownership and prosperity”.

The organization’s strategy is designed to create lasting community wealth and a vibrant local culture. Key aspects include:

  • Targeting capital: Attracting traditional and innovative investments to the mid-South Side.
  • Driving job growth: Using major local investments, like the Obama Presidential Center, to generate new jobs.
  • Supporting local business: Fostering the growth of existing businesses and leaders while growing a local workforce.
  • Promoting local spending: Encouraging community and visitor spending to remain in the area.
  • Increasing local ownership: Ensuring residents and business owners benefit from growth and have increased ownership in their communities.
  • Building community pride: Amplifying local culture through events and cultural production.

Emerald South Key initiatives and partnerships:

  • Shared Purchasing Network (SPN): Launched in May 2025 in partnership with the Obama Foundation, the SPN is a program that uses collective buying power to help small businesses and nonprofits negotiate better rates and terms for operational goods and services. By aggregating purchasing needs, the program allows smaller organizations to achieve cost savings typically reserved for much larger entities.
  • Terra Firma: An initiative that stabilizes vacant land, employs adults and youth in green jobs, and supports local community gardens and artists. Past successes have included stabilizing 102 acres of vacant land and employing dozens of residents.
  • Strategic Action Agenda: Since 2019, ESEDC has worked with partners like urbanAC to guide its development and shape its strategic agenda for the Washington Park, Woodlawn, and South Shore neighborhoods.
  • Community partnerships: ESEDC works alongside a number of other community organizations, including the Quad Communities Development Corporation, to raise awareness and maximize the impact of its programs.

Learn more about Emerald South Economic Development Collaborative visit  emeraldsouth.org