How mission-driven development pencils on Chicago’s South Side — with Byron Brazier

How do you make mission-driven development pencil in a neighborhood shaped by decades of disinvestment?

In this episode of Building Better Cities, host Kate Gasparro sits down with J. Byron Brazier, lead developer of Woodlawn Central, a nearly $895 million mixed-use development on Chicago’s South Side anchored by the Apostolic Church of God. Together, they explore how community-led, faith-based development can drive large-scale urban regeneration without displacement.

The conversation dives into how Woodlawn Central is moving forward without relying on Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) and how financing tools like joint ventures, phased development, and future tax-increment strategies help the project pencil. 

This episode is a must-listen for developers, city leaders, investors, planners, and community builders interested in equitable development, transit-oriented districts, and new models for community-driven urban revitalization.

Resources:

Woodlawn Central: "A model for the new Black community" (Urbanize Chicago)

A Woodlawn megadevelopment stirs hope and fear in the Chicago neighborhood (WBEZ Chicago)

Price tag for Church's sweeping plant to redevelopment Woodlawn property could hit $1B (Block Club Chicago)

Bid to aid 'vulnerable residents' by Obama Presidential Center wins city panel's unanimous backing (WBEZ Chicago)

Why homes for low-income renters are far more expensive to build (BisNow)

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