Info Session: Exploring Space & Real Estate for Arts Organizations
Tuesday, January 27
10-11am
Virtual
Thinking about building your own space, renting out space for revenue, or just curious about how the real estate process works? On January 27, Arts Alliance is partnering with IFF to host an info session where you can ask experts your questions on these and other real estate topics.
For those interested in the City of Chicago’s Community Development Grants (CDG), IFF will be available to provide coaching and guidance on the program, which accepts applications every six months. With the next deadline approaching on February 13, 2026, this is a chance to get help on an in-progress application or learn how to prepare for an upcoming funding round.
Speakers
Jessica Nepomiachi
Jessica Nepomiachi is the Managing Director for Real Estate Solutions in Chicago at IFF, a mission-driven lender, developer, and real estate consultant that supports nonprofits across the Midwest. At IFF she leads real estate consulting executing complex real estate projects, coaching and technical assistance programs with partners including Chicago’s Cultural Treasures, Elevated Chicago, the Chicago Community Trust, Illinois Homelessness Education Technical Assistance Center and the City of Chicago DFSS Shelter Infrastructure Initiative. Jessica supports non profits and community developers with capital alignment and real estate readiness in a diverse range of sectors and across Chicagoland including arts and culture, emergency housing, early child care centers and mental health services. In her previous roles as a developer, Jessica created and preserved thousands of affordable housing and permanent supportive housing units. She previously served at the Chicago Housing Authority, New York Housing Authority and the New York City Council.
Jessica is the co-chair of the Jewish Council of Urban Affairs’ Community Ventures Program which provides predevelopment capital for community development projects in Chicagoland. Jessica has a Bachelor of Arts from Hampshire College and a Master of Urban Planning from Pratt Institute.
Kate Ansorge
Kate Ansorge serves as Vice President of Real Estate Solutions for IFF where she oversees a team of thirteen that plans and executes a diverse portfolio of community development projects across the Chicago metro area, supporting non-profits and the communities they serve with real estate and capital expertise.
Kate and the Chicago Real Estate Solutions team deliver real estate technical assistance to support community development including an equitable Transit Oriented Development (eTOD) pipeline with Elevated Chicago. Kate’s team also supports Chicago Cultural Treasures, a program for BIPOC-led arts and culture non-profits, and We Rise Together, a pipeline of community development to respond to the urgent economic needs of underinvested communities in the Chicago region, which are predominantly Black and Latine.
Kate is also leading the Chicago Real Estate Solutions team to deliver a pipeline of emergency housing capital projects, operating as a Program Administrator for the City of Chicago’s Shelter Infrastructure Initiative, a $40 million capital award to seven projects as well as real estate and capital support to four shelters through IHDA’s non-congregate capital program.
Kate has a Bachelor of Arts from Vassar College and a Master of Urban Planning from University of Illinois – Chicago.
Megan Lewis, AICP
Megan Lewis, AICP, brings more than 20 years of experience in project management, organizational development, strategic planning, relationship building, and project concepting. At Arts Alliance she oversees the Public Funding Navigator program, which conducts research and provides technical support to Illinois’s creative sector. A certified urban planner, Megan brings her ability to understand the important connection that the arts and culture sector brings to community health and vitality. She holds a BA in economics from Indiana University and master’s degree in regional planning from the University of Pennsylvania.
Thinking about building your own space, renting out space for revenue, or just curious about how the real estate process works? On January 27, Arts Alliance is partnering with IFF to host an info session where you can ask experts your questions on these and other real estate topics.
For those interested in the City of Chicago’s Community Development Grants (CDG), IFF will be available to provide coaching and guidance on the program, which accepts applications every six months. With the next deadline approaching on February 13, 2026, this is a chance to get help on an in-progress application or learn how to prepare for an upcoming funding round.
Even if you live outside of Chicago, this will be a great introduction to the fundamentals of arts-focused real estate planning and financing.
This program is offered as part of a larger partnership with IFF to provide information and resources on real estate. Watch for information about future events coming soon!
