COMMUNITY RELATIONS LIVING ON THE ’EDGE
2020 PLAN
If it’s been a while since you’ve visited the Lake Shore Campus, you may be surprised to find some new places to eat, shop, and even spend the night. These businesses are part of an initiative to improve economic development around the intersection of
Sheridan Road, Devon Avenue, and Broadway. The RogersEdge Business Improvement District began when
Loyola approached the Edgewater Chamber of Commerce and Rogers Park Business Alliance about joining forces to address com- mercial streets that are boundaries between community areas and wards. The idea came about in 2015 after Loyola conducted a demo- graphic and retail study that looked only at census data and retail habits. Ignoring traditional boundaries, the study found that the areas immediately north and south of Devon surrounding Loyola’s campus have more in common with each other than with the rest of their respective wards or neighborhoods. A new boundary was drawn around that focus area, and RogersEdge was born. “Since the report came out, we started promoting the area differ-
ently,” says Jennifer Clark, associate vice president of Campus and Community Planning at Loyola and architect of the plan. “Advancing a campus-community district helped us to recruit over a dozen new businesses that serve a shared clientele.”
ROGERSEDGE Senior George Roussakio (left) enjoys mentoring kids such as 11-year-old Isaiah.
want it to be, which ensures they will want to continue to come every week. Wesley explains that it emphasizes a “neutral safe space” where kids can connect with each other despite outside conflicts like gang affiliations. Daily life can be challenging and wear on kids, she says, so one goal of the program is to relieve them of that burden. “We made the decision early
on that this was going to be an ex- plicitly warm and loving program,” says Wesley. “And I think we’ve seen how much the kids not only come to expect it but appreciate it. They bring their best, wonderful, goofy selves—it’s really kind of beautiful to see.” Edgewater Kids United also helps kids feel “known” in the community,
Couture says. They visit nearby busi- nesses so kids can become familiar with local business owners. “The more we can engage children who are not visiting those places on a regular basis, the better our com- munity will be as a whole,” she says. Another benefit is building posi-
tive relationships between Loyola and people in the area, says Wesley. “Starting with the children is a
good step towards having families understand and believe that the University cares about them and wants to be a good neighbor to them,” Wesley says. She also stresses the importance of kids feeling like they belong on a college campus. “This can really shift their mindset about what their own future might hold.” L
is a business com- munity located in the area sur- rounding the Lake Shore Campus. It runs along the northern corridor of Sheridan Road/ North Broadway, between the Morse and Granville Red Line stations, and extends several blocks west along Devon Avenue.
MORSE AVENUE
DEVON AVENUE
GRANVILLE AVENUE
WHAT’S NEW IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD
Hampton Inn Chicago North- Loyola Station, at the corner of Sheridan and Albion, with store- front space for retail property
Caffé ArrivaDolce Due (opening soon), 6443 N. Sheridan
Local Goods Chicago, selling handcrafted, locally made items; and Third Coast Comics, both in the Granada Center at 6443 N. Sheridan
Clarke’s Diner, 6431 N. Sheridan
WINTER 2017 23
SHERIDAN ROAD
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