HARVEY TO BUILD 6 NET ZERO COMMUNITY HUBS
Illinois State Representative Will Davis, City of Harvey Mayor Christopher J. Clark, Nicor Gas Director of Government Affairs Raul Kalsi and City of Harvey Police Chief Elvin Boone during the groundbreaking of the Net Zero Community Hub. PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE CITY OF HARVEY.
On Wednesday, Nov. 2nd, a groundbreaking took place at 168 W. 154th St., the site of one of the community hubs, in Harvey’s third ward. The Net Zero Community Hub is a $1.7 million investment. The Net Zero Communities are meant to bring about blight reduction, public safety, improved lighting, greater access to WiFi, as well as increasing a safe haven for seniors, children and entire families. The goal is for residents to benefit from community resources.
The City of Harvey, Mayor Christopher J. Clark described the groundbreaking as another historic day in the City of Harvey. “Building a better Harvey is more than just a phrase or tagline, it takes strong words and strong action,” Clark said, touting recent transportation infrastructure investments in the city. “This progress we are witnessing in Harvey is rooted in partnership. Through partnership we are able to make things happen here in the City of Harvey.”
Mayor Clark added that everything that has been done during his time as Mayor has happened with the help of advocates and through partnerships and relationships with entities in the City and the State of Illinois.
The City of Harvey Chief of Police Elvin Boone said it is important for the Harvey Police Department to build and forge relationships with the community residents.
“We’re excited to share another initiative to help deter crime in the City of Harvey. Our main priority is to keep the citizens and the visitors of our great city safe,” Boone said during the groundbreaking. Boone added having the Net Zero Community Hubs will also help the Police Department recruit more officers. The City of Harvey Police Department recently hired 15 new officers. It also is looking to implement more technology and bring more resources to help with community engagement and making the city safe.
“Our senior community and our youth community will finally have a place to go in the city where they can enjoy themselves and engage in activities with one another in that safe environment,” Clark said.
Illinois State Representative Will Davis, D. Dist. 30, said the job of a State Representative is to bring resources to their Districts. When he was approached by Clark about providing resources for the Net Zero Community Hub, he was motivated to award Harvey with a $1 million grant, which helped move the project forward.
“We are creating a better City of Harvey. Our job and our objective here is to make people want to come back to Harvey, want to move to the City of Harvey, we want businesses to come back to the City of Harvey. Projects like this are the beginning of that resurgence and beginning of that Renaissance in the City of Harvey,” Davis said.
Rahul Kalsi, Director of Government Affairs for Nicor Gas, said these developments will be constructed using state-of-the-art technology, with affordable, Net Zero energy efficient buildings, in partnership with Nicor Gas. The buildings will include natural gas-powered water heaters, smart technology refrigerators, Electric Vehicle infrastructure and solar panels.
Mayor Clark said the goal of creating localized hubs in the six wards is to enable accessibility. Partners will provide programs at the hubs, and the Police Substations will create a safe environment for people to congregate.
“Hopefully that safe zone will continue to go out, spread amongst the community, where we can create a safer city,” Clark said.
Clark added the building of the Net Zero Community Hubs checks a few boxes. It helps to rebuild the credibility of the City of Harvey, show people the city has financial discipline and strength, as well as showing people the City of Harvey is safe, and that initiatives can go from idea to completion.
“[We are] Showing people that the City of Harvey is open for business, we can do business, and we are serious about the business that we are doing and that we are going to serve our people,” Mayor Clark said.
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