Know Your Neighbors: Albany Park Chamber of Commerce

The Albany Park Chamber of Commerce is a member-based group that is part of the North River Commission. The chamber is dedicated to strengthening the Albany Park and Mayfair communities by providing support to local businesses. The chamber was started in 1927 and was revived in 1976. The chamber's office is located at 3403 W. Lawrence Ave., suite 201, right by the Kimball brown line station. One project the chamber is working on is neighborhood beautification. This program provides a grant that gives business owners up to either $150,000 or 75 percent of their storefront renovation project costs. This includes help with all types of fees, from permits and architectural drawings to the actual renovation costs. Businesses that have been awarded this grant thus far include Chica's Secret Boutique, Noon-o-Kabob Persian Restaurant, Tre Kronor Swedish Restaurant, Bonnie Flower Shop, among many more. The Albany Park Chamber of Commerce holds a great deal of events, including "Bon Appétit," which is a multicultural taste restaurant crawl in Albany Park and North Park. They also host park clean ups and open houses for businesses, networking events. They also offer tours of the Albany Park neighborhood. The Albany Park Chamber of Commerce works alongside NEIU to bring the North Park Art Walk to life. The Albany Park Chamber of commerce works hand in hand with the North River Commission and the Lawrence Avenue Development Coalition (LADC) to make the Albany Park neighborhood a better place. Since the Chamber and LADC started working together they have renovated more than 300 storefronts and have placed benches, streetlights and trees throughout the neighborhood. Members benefit from marketing, networking, storefront improvements and resource center and community connections. Members are offered a discount on advertising on the Albany Park Chamber of Commerce newsletter. They also have the opportunity to have banners hanged on the light poles of the commercial district. Memberships for small businesses are $100, for institutions it's $250 and for non-profits it's $50.