$520 Million Capital Plan for the City Colleges of Chicago

May 02, 2012

On December 12, 2011, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced the College to Careers initiative for the City Colleges of Chicago. The new initiative addresses the need to fill an estimated approximately 100,000 jobs that are expected to be available in Chicago between now and 2020.[1] College to Careers focuses on two job fields expected to grow significantly in the next ten years: 1) healthcare and 2) transportation, distribution and logistics. Courses in transportation, distribution and logistics will primarily be held at Olive-Harvey College, while the proposed Allied Health Academy will reside at Malcolm X College will offer healthcare education. Programs under the Allied Health Academy will include: nursing, pharmacy technician, hospital pharmacy, dental hygiene, respiratory therapy, occupational therapy, medical lab technician, radiography, health information technology, nephrology, community health, emergency medical technician and paramedics and medical billing and coding.[2]

Several businesses and organizations have expressed interest in partnering with the City Colleges in the College to Careers program through curriculum development and execution, internship opportunities and career planning and training. For transportation, distribution and logistics education, partners include UPS, AAR Corporation, Chicago Transit Authority, Canadian National Railway, BNSF Railway, Schneider Finance, Inc., United Airlines, Coyote Logistics and Union Pacific. In the healthcare field, partnering organizations include Rush University Medical Center, John H. Stroger Hospital of Cook County, Northwestern University Hospital, Advocate Healthcare, Baxter, Walgreens, Allscripts and Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council.

With plans for a new campus, Malcolm X College will undergo the greatest changes under the College to Careers initiative. On February 21, 2012, Mayor Emanuel and Cheryl Hyman, Chancellor of the City Colleges of Chicago, announced a $479 million five-year capital plan designed to support the College to Careers initiative. The $479 million plan they described is part of a larger five-year capital plan totaling $520 million, which also includes funding for the new Transportation, Distribution and Logistics Center. The $479 million capital plan announced by Mayor Emanuel and Chancellor Hyman includes: $77 million in academic enhancements, $135 million in long-deferred maintenance, $16 million in safety and security systems throughout the seven City Colleges institutions and $251 million for a new Malcolm X College campus.2 The remaining $41 million of the overall $520 million capital plan will fund the new Transportation, Distribution and Logistics Center, which will be located at Olive-Harvey College.[3]

Projected to open in the spring of 2015, the new Malcolm X College campus will be located south of the United Center on land already owned by the City Colleges, across from the college’s current site at Jackson and Damen. The 500,000 square foot campus will include two three-story academic buildings and a 1,500-space parking facility. Construction for the new campus is expected to create approximately 2,000 jobs.[4]

Funding sources for the total $520 million capital plan include:

· $278 million in bonds, supported by Personal Property Replacement Tax (PPRT) revenue;
· $120 million in capital reserves;
· $79 million in cash generated from operations;
· $31 million in contributions from the Capital Development Board; and
· $12 million in funding from the Wilson Yard tax increment financing (TIF) district.3