Community Empowerment Workshop Series

Registration Now Open for Outside Chicago Metro Area                        

Practical Tools and Real-World Knowledge

All classes will be in-person held at the Chicago Rehab Network Office located 140 S. Dearborn, Suite 1420, Chicago, IL
  1. Community Building  
  2. Finance Skills for Real Estate   
  3. Proforma Development   
  4. Sources of Development Financing   
  5. Single Family Housing Development   
  6. Multifamily Housing Development   
  7. Project and Construction Management   
  8. Property and Asset Management   

Learn to be a leader in improving the quality of life in your community. CRN's Community Empowerment Workshop Series uses practical tools and real-world knowledge of practitioners to teach you how to effect positive change in communities through housing development. Offered annually, the training series is designed for staff and board members of community-based affordable housing development organizations, government employees, community bankers, small neighborhood developers, and elected officials and their staff.

 

Graduates of the series receive a certificate of completion that is well-known and respected by community development and affordable housing practitioners and advocates.  Registration for the 2024-2025 Community Empowerment Workshop Series will open soon. 

 

 

Workshops will be held in person at the Chicago Rehab Network office located 140 S. Dearborn, Suite 1420, Chicago, IL.  

PLEASE NOTE: ALL CLASSES WILL BE HELD OVER MULTIPLE SESSIONS. YOU WILL NEED TO ATTEND ALL SESSIONS TO RECEIVE THE COMPLETION CERTIFICATE. 

Fees

Register for the full series or individual workshops.

Full series (eight workshops)
$1,400 nonprofit  /  $1,800 for-profit

Individual workshops
$200 nonprofit  /  $250 for-profit

About the Workshops

Property taxes, high housing cost burden, gentrification, vacancy, abandonment, homelessness—all are issues community developers work to overcome. Using a value-based approach to learning development fundamentals, you can learn to be a leader in improving the quality of life in your community for renters and owners through housing. You'll learn technical development skills, discuss strategies for community empowerment and reinvestment, and share your experiences with others in the field.

Community Building

 Instructor: Joy Aruguete, Chief Executive Officer, Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation

Day In The Field: Tuesday, September 10, 2024: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Class: Thursday, September 12, 2024: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

The first in the series, this workshop will present the community assets perspective as a model for community planning. Through looking at strategies employed by community-based development organizations, we will discuss the elements beyond bricks and mortar that community building requires.

Finance Skills for Real Estate

Instructor: Maurice Williams, MW Associates

Class: Thursday, October 10, 2024: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Class: Thursday, October 17, 2024 : 830 a.m. - 4:30 - p.m.

Technology can enhance your organization’s ability to operate efficiently in today’s challenging market. Learn housing finance concepts, how to compute financial calculations, and how to use spreadsheets to create development proformas. 

Proforma Development

 Instructor: Maurice Williams, MW Associates

Class: Thursday, November 14, 2024: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

 Class: Friday, November 15, 2024: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Understanding principles of real estate development and finance is critical to maintaining the long-term affordability of your project. In this session, learn to create development proformas, income and expense statements, and cash flow analyses. Emphasis will be placed on structuring projects with tax credits, grant funding, and public funds. 

Sources of Development Financing

 Instructor: Yittayih Zelalem, Director and Research Associate Professor, Nathalie P. Voorhees Center for Neighborhood and Community Improvement

Class: Tuesday, December 10, 2024: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m

Class: Thursday, December 12, 2024: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Developing affordable housing is a challenging process that requires the layering of financing to achieve the goal of affordability. This workshop will familiarize participants with the mechanics of securing development capital, debt and equity financing, grants and subsidies.

Single Family Housing Development

 Instructors: Teresa Prim, President, Prim Lawrence Group; 

 Linda Greene, Chicago Rehab Network

Class: Thursday, January 23, 2025: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Class: Friday, January 24, 2025: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

The process of developing single family housing will be discussed both in terms of the technical skills involved, and in terms of maximizing production to meet community needs. Assembling the development team, acquiring property, securing financing, and marketing will be examined in detail. 

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Multifamily Housing Development

 Instructors: Teresa Prim, President, Prim Lawrence Group;

Linda Greene, Chicago Rehab Network

Class: Thursday, February 20, 2025: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Class: tuesday, February 25, 2025: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

 Multifamily housing development will be discussed as one tool for creating community-based affordable housing. The development process, acquisition, sources of financing, development team, and legal issues will all be discussed. 

Project and Construction Management

 Instructor: Angela Hurlock, Executive Director, Claretian Associates

Class: Wednesday, March 12, 2025: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Day In The Field: Thursday, March 13, 2025: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 

Creating quality affordable housing requires knowledge of construction that includes knowing how to choose a project team, how to manage contracts, and how to closeout the project.

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Property and Asset Management

 Instructor: Eleazar Vazquez 

Class: Wednesday, April 9, 2025: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Class: Wednesday, April 16, 2025: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

This course will review the key aspects of the property management of subsidized housing. Focus will be given to marketing and lease up, accounting, asset management, fair housing laws, maintenance, capital improvements, and resident services.

 Make a payment for the Empowerment Series

This form is for individuals who have set up an incremental payment plan for the Community Development & Empowerment Series. It is not a registration form. Don't have a payment plan in place but want to set one up? Contact Terrhonda Hudson at terrhonda@chicagorehab.org.

Revitalize your community

CMAP logo”Any mission-driven organization in the city or metro counties should take this series if they care about revitalizing communities.”
—Kendra Smith, CMAP

Practical skills and training

LUCHA logo”I believe the CRN Community Development + Empowerment Series training is the best training that I have taken in development. I was able to take what was taught back to the office and apply it right away.”
—Charlene Andreas, LUCHA

The Community Development and Empowerment Series is underwritten by the Illinois Housing Development Authority. 

 

 

 

Testimonies

 "I am so excited about  being a part of the empowerment series. The wealth of information given in each of these sessions are very instrumental in my work.  The Empowerment Series has given me a better understanding."​ 

-Shaobo Lyu, Chicago Housing Authority ​

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"As a career changer, the Empowerment Series has been pivotal in helping me build a foundational understanding of the development process and in providing me an incredible network of peers who are already in the field.  I deeply appreciate what Chicago Rehab Network is doing to increase the number of developers of color in Chicago and to make those already doing this work feel like they really belong."

Oluwabukola Adeyinka

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​"The Empowerment Series classes revealed so much information that I need in my day-to-day work.  The skills I have, partnered with this information has given me a better understanding of the work I do every day." ​

​Noel Bowers, HOME Project Coordinator-Cook County Bureau of Economic Development, Department of Planning & Development

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"As a cohort of Chicago Rehab's Empowerment Series, I've discovered the transformative power of resilience and strategic growth in the competitive realm of real estate. Through immersive learning and firsthand experiences, I'm empowered to navigate Chicago's dynamic market with confidence, unlocking new opportunities for success at every turn."​

Roxanne Garcia

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"The Chicago Rehab Network Empowerment Series was a powerful experience that helped me become a more qualified professional, stronger advocate, and better-informed citizen in the movement to address the ongoing housing crisis. Affordable housing development is complicated and the Empowerment Series covered topics in-depth from organizing community stakeholders to financing development and beyond. I learned so much from the profoundly talented pool of lecturers - all of whom have incredible resumes and exceptional accomplishments." 

Jack Brandl

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MacArthur Foundation

MacArthur Award Winner

The Chicago Rehab Network is a proud recipient of the 2006 MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions.

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