Hi Everyone, I’m new to the community and learning a lot from the meetups and online events. I’m everyone has been so kind and helpful, Grace and Oscar in particular! I’m an artist, furniture maker, contractor, occasional teacher and art writer. Im starting a company called Haven Creative to ”mobilize dormant resources.” My plan is to buy and hold both residential and commercial properties and turn them into artistic experiences while offering as many of the following as possible: affordable housing, co-living, job opportunities for the under employed, youth apprenticeships, fractionalized ownership, a Haven token. I’m starting with lending to learn more about how that side of things works. You can see my art work and writing at johnpreus.com Looking forward to working with you all!

@Jennie Fronczak such a pleasure to meet you. I will definitely want to talk more with you. I’m simultaneously working on a project to design and build affordable prefab housing on the south side with a couple of partners. Would you be willing to talk us through some of the options and supports available from the city? We’ve got the first parcel of land down in grand crossing that my partner got from the land bank. Also, I’m looking at a mixed use space in Evanston that’s way below market rate and been on the market for a while. I’m not a phone guy. Who would you all recommend to JV with to see if they’re open to creative? I want to buy the building myself. Just need someone comfortable talking with agent and seller.