# A motel becomes a young adult shelter in Brainerd, and a worker-owned snack plant rises in Chatham. The bond behind one passed 32-17

*The 26-room shelter uses $3.7 million in Chicago Recovery Plan money; CrossTreats got $500,000 from a program funded by the Mayor's $1.25 billion housing and economic development bond.*

By Chicago Politics · Updated Oct 26, 2026

Two South Side projects broke ground last week with City money behind them, [Block Club Chicago reported](https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/10/26/young-adult-shelter-coming-to-brainerd-food-production-facility-coming-to-chatham/) Monday. In Brainerd, the former Budget Motel at 8913 S. Ashland Ave. will become a 26-unit shelter for people ages 18 to 24 experiencing homelessness, each with a private room. In Chatham, a worker-owned snack maker called CrossTreats is turning a century-old building at 7920 S. Greenwood Ave. into a food production plant.

Why it matters: both projects show where two of the Mayor's funding streams are going: pandemic-era Chicago Recovery Plan money for shelters, and the 2024 Housing and Economic Development bond for neighborhood businesses. Both depend on votes the Council took, one of them sharply divided.

## The shelter

Unity Parenting and Counseling, which has run the Ujima Village overnight shelter for young adults since 2013, is behind the $6.2 million project, Block Club reported. The money includes $3.7 million from the Chicago Recovery Plan's Non-Congregate Shelter Acquisition Program, $2 million in state Community Development Block Grant funds, a $500,000 federal earmark and $25,000 from Unity. Residents will get case management, meals, job training and health care through a partner clinic.

Ald. Ronnie Mosley (21st), whose ward includes the site, said at the groundbreaking that many of the constituent requests his office reviews each month are from people seeking shelter, according to Block Club.

## The food plant

CrossTreats, founded in 2024 and incubated by the nonprofit Village of Leaders Thriving in Solidarity (VOLTS), makes nut-free snacks for schools and youth programs. Its $1.5 million project received a $500,000 Wealth Our Way grant, according to the [City's announcement](https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/mayor/press_room/press_releases/2026/october/crosstreets-ground-breaking.html). Wealth Our Way is a $4.1 million program run by the Department of Planning and Development with Community Desk Chicago, funded through the Mayor's $1.25 billion Housing and Economic Development (HED) bond, the City said. CrossTreats has four worker-owners and expects to hire five more over three years. Ald. Michelle Harris (8th) attended the groundbreaking.

## What our records add

**The HED bond passed 32 to 17.** The [2024 Affordable Housing and Community Development Borrowing Ordinance](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/matter/SO2024-0007838-issuance-general-obligation-sales-tax-securitization) (SO2024-0007838) passed on April 19, 2024. Mosley and Harris voted yes. The 17 no votes were Hopkins (2), Beale (9), Chico (10), Quinn (13), Lopez (15), Tabares (23), Cardona (31), Waguespack (32), Conway (34), Villegas (36), Sposato (38), Nugent (39), Napolitano (41), Reilly (42), Lawson (44), Gardiner (45) and Silverstein (50). Ald. Chris Taliaferro (29th) did not vote.

How each ward voted: [SO2024-0007838](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/matter/SO2024-0007838-issuance-general-obligation-sales-tax-securitization)

The Council has since approved individual HED-funded deals by wide margins, including the [Deeply Rooted Dance Center](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/matter/O2026-0027239-redevelopment-agreement-deeply-rooted-productions-inc) in Washington Park, 50 to 0 in September.

**The co-op model has been before the Council.** At a September 2024 hearing of the Committee on Economic, Capital and Technology Development, a leader of ChiFresh Kitchen, the VOLTS co-op where CrossTreats started, described it as a worker cooperative that hires formerly incarcerated people and offers a path to ownership ([watch at 2:02:04](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/meeting/F4365520-C04A-EF11-A316-001DD804AA64?t=7324)). Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22nd) asked how worker co-ops, employee stock ownership plans and employee ownership trusts differ in building wealth ([1:10:31](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/meeting/F4365520-C04A-EF11-A316-001DD804AA64?t=4231)).

**Non-congregate shelters are a recurring ask.** At the 2025 budget hearings, Ald. Andre Vasquez (40th) described the Haven on Lincoln non-congregate shelter and asked how the model could be scaled ([watch at 7:43:49](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/meeting/2430D639-1287-EF11-AC21-001DD809A88D?t=27829)). In February 2025, the Finance Committee advanced up to $15 million in tax increment financing for a Franciscan Outreach non-congregate shelter on West 21st Street ([4:33:36](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/meeting/5699284D-56DE-EF11-8EEA-001DD804C7AB?t=16416)).

## What's next

The Department of Planning and Development and the Department of Family and Support Services, which runs the shelter system, testify at the Council's budget hearings on Nov. 4 and Nov. 6 ([schedule](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/on-my-block/chicago-budget-hearings-schedule-department-by-department-2027)).


## Legislation in this story

- [2024 Affordable Housing and Community Development Borrowing Ordinance](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/matter/SO2024-0007838-issuance-general-obligation-sales-tax-securitization) (SO2024-0007838)

## Sources

1. City Clerk: [SO2024-0007838: 2024 Affordable Housing and Community Development Borrowing Ordinance](https://chicityclerkelms.chicago.gov/Matter/?matterId=7A924B08-39D0-EE11-9078-001DD806E058)
2. City Clerk: [SO2024-0007838, Miscellaneous: EDSs SO2024-0007838 Vol 1 dated Apr 11. Incomplete.pdf](https://occprodstoragev1.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/matterattachmentspublic/03095fb3-8b54-4a7a-90bb-d5265b9dedf3.pdf)
3. City Clerk: [SO2024-0007838, EDS: EDSs SO2024-0007838 Full EDS File verified April 17 2024.pdf](https://occprodstoragev1.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/matterattachmentspublic/03ea036b-f836-4977-8481-00d7dc5aadb8.pdf)
4. City Clerk: [SO2024-0007838, Miscellaneous: O2024-0007838 Original Ordinance.pdf](https://occprodstoragev1.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/matterattachmentspublic/09049069-8c6a-4e2d-b2cb-dd1131d1c1d8.pdf)
5. City Clerk: [SO2024-0007838, Legislation: SO2024-0007838 Signed by Mayor_0318.pdf](https://occprodstoragev1.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/matterattachmentspublic/0c300240-de7e-4e60-b3dc-2d0c35edbe01.pdf)
6. City of Chicago: [City Council, Apr 19, 2024: meeting video](https://vimeo.com/936019849)
7. City Clerk: [City Council, Apr 19, 2024: Agenda](https://occprodstoragev1.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/meetingattachmentspublic/57a8169e-fe57-4bdc-9ba3-95b59b106841.pdf)
8. City Clerk: [City Council, Apr 19, 2024: Notice](https://occprodstoragev1.blob.core.usgovcloudapi.net/meetingattachmentspublic/8b6c49fd-4804-4a4a-b4e4-20957dddd35d.pdf)
9. Block Club Chicago: [Block Club Chicago reported](https://blockclubchicago.org/2026/10/26/young-adult-shelter-coming-to-brainerd-food-production-facility-coming-to-chatham/)
10. City of Chicago: [City's announcement](https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/mayor/press_room/press_releases/2026/october/crosstreets-ground-breaking.html)
11. Chicago Politics: [SO2024-0007838: votes, timeline and summary](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/matter/SO2024-0007838-issuance-general-obligation-sales-tax-securitization)
12. Chicago Politics: [City Council, Apr 19, 2024: transcript](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/files/transcripts/936019849.txt)
13. City of Chicago: [Neighborhood and community area boundaries (Chicago Data Portal)](https://data.cityofchicago.org/d/y6yq-dbs2)

On the map: [Washington Heights](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/on-my-block/neighborhoods/washington-heights), [Chatham](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/on-my-block/neighborhoods/chatham), [21st Ward](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/ward/21), [8th Ward](https://www.chicagopolitics.org/ward/8)

---
Source: https://www.chicagopolitics.org/on-my-block/brainerd-young-adult-shelter-chatham-crosstreats-hed-bond · Chicago Politics, an independent tracker of the Chicago City Council. Guide for agents: https://www.chicagopolitics.org/llms.txt