08/30/2026
There is a City of Chicago program that pays back up to 90% of a new storefront, and most owners on these blocks have never heard of it.
It is called SBIF, the Small Business Improvement Fund. It is a reimbursement, not a loan. You pay for the approved work, the City pays most of it back, and you keep the upgrade with nothing to pay back. It has put roughly $154 million into more than 2,200 Chicago businesses since 2001.
Right now four areas are open and the window closes August 30. You do not have to own the building. Tenants qualify too, with the landlord's sign-off.
On the work itself: if it is a straight storefront tear-out and replacement, we handle the whole thing. If the openings need cutting or there is interior finish work involved, that takes a general contractor, and we can line one up if you do not have one. If you manage or build for retail tenants, this one is worth a forward.
Don't see your block on the list? Send your address anyway. The open areas change monthly, and we will tell you the moment yours opens.
Want to know if your block is open and what you would get back? Send your address through the form at houseofglass.glassmanager.net/Lead, or call us at 630-834-3031 and say you are calling about the SBIF grant. We will tell you for free.