Mayor Rahm Emanuel today joined Old Navy to celebrate the company opening a new an 11,600-square-foot store in Chicago’s Morgan Park Neighborhood. The store is creating approximately 50 new jobs and brings an iconic American retailer to Chicago’s South Side.

“This store will give residents the opportunity to shop in the neighborhood, create new jobs and marks another down-payment on the future of this great community,” Mayor Emanuel said. “When we see growth, investments and opportunity, we want to make sure they are taking place in every neighborhood across Chicago.”

The new store is located in Morgan Park’s Marshfield Plaza and features Old Navy’s latest store design, which includes fun activities for the whole family – kids’ tables with crayons and coloring sheets, a ball machine, a balloon stand and hopscotch. The store will also offer the company’s latest in-store services to ensure an easy and seamless shopping experience, including Buy Online., Pickup In-Store., Price Checkers, Mobile Point-of-Sale and Contactless Payments.

“We’re excited to bring even more fun and fashion to Chicago with the opening of the Marshfield Plaza Old Navy store, which will create 50 new jobs for the community,” said Sonia Syngal, President and CEO, Old Navy. “We’re grateful to Mayor Emanuel for his partnership through the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund – together we’re committed to helping revitalize the South Side of the city and deliver the democracy of style.”

The opening marks Old Navy’s sixth store in Chicago and 30 stores in the greater Chicagoland market.

The new store is made possible by an investment from the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund, which leverages downtown development to create resources for commercial development in communities of greatest need.

"We are excited to welcome Old Navy to the neighborhood," said Alderman Carrie Austin. "By leveraging downtown development to invest in our neighborhoods, we are creating stronger commercial corridors that create jobs for our residents and continued economic growth for our communities."

The Neighborhood Opportunity Fund, created by Mayor Emanuel through reforms to the City’s Zoning Code in 2016, is financed by voluntary contributions from downtown construction projects. The payments are in exchange for density bonuses that allow developers to exceed zoning limits for a specific development site.

Since 2015, Gap Inc. has been working with Youth Job Center in Chicago through its This Way Ahead program to provide youth facing barriers to employment a way into the workforce through mentoring, skills training and a first job experience at select Old Navy, Gap and Banana Republic stores. To date, 344 young people from Youth Job Center have graduated from This Way Ahead after completing a paid summer internship.

About Old Navy

Old Navy is a global apparel and accessories brand that makes current American essentials accessible to every family. Originated in 1994, the brand celebrates the democracy of style through on-trend, playfully optimistic, affordable and high-quality product. A division of San Francisco-based Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS), Old Navy brings a fun, energizing shopping environment to its customers in more than 1,000 stores around the world. For more information, please visit www.oldnavy.com.

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