About Greater Southwest Development Corporation

We are a team of passionate advocates, activists, and social champions. Our staff members are former business owners, individuals with decades of economic development experience, parents, children and residents of the South and Southwest Side.

We work in service of a multicultural, prosperous and economically vibrant Southwest Chicago, one rooted in social justice and racial equity. Together with the community, we strive to build generational, inclusive and sustainable wealth on Chicago’s Southwest Side.

The Greater Southwest Development Corporation Mission and Vision

Our Vision

A thriving Southwest Chicago community 

Our Mission

To be a catalyst for creating and maintaining a vital Southwest Chicago community by empowering, building and sustaining development that raises the quality of life for our neighborhood residents, businesses and industries. 

Serving Chicago communities during adversity

In 2020, GSDC worked with more than 1,800 business owners affected by the pandemic to secure $4.2M in emergency funds.

Additionally, GSDC engaged with 124 community residents on foreclosure prevention and rental assistance counseling, while simultaneously providing safe, affordable housing for over 250 seniors.

Our senior building staff worked tirelessly to ensure our seniors were safe and comfortable given all that was happening to them.