The former Pioneer Bank building in Humboldt Park would be redeveloped as a commercial office building through $13 million in Tax Increment Financing (TIF) assistance proposed to City Council today by Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot.

The $21.2 million project, led by Park Row Development, was selected in November 2021 as the winning response to a Department of Planning and Development (DPD) Request for Proposals (RFP) issued as part of the INVEST South/West planning initiative.

The project will repurpose the vacant 50,000-square-foot bank building at 4000 W. North Ave. into a mix of office and community incubator workspaces. Ground floor tenants are expected to include two nonprofits: BTEC, which specializes in workforce management and career training, and Arquitectos, a networking and professional resource organization for Latino architects. Upper floors will serve as headquarters for the architecture firm JGMA, a co-developer of the project. JGMA intends to relocate 50 jobs to the site.

The former Pioneer Bank Annex building at 4008 W. North Ave. is planned to be used as a community café and restaurant.

A planned second phase of the project will add affordable housing to a one-acre parking lot north of the former bank.

Built in 1924, the Classical Revival-style Pioneer Bank building was designated as an official Chicago Landmark in 2012.