In addition to a sale of the company through bankruptcy, the potato chip and snack maker's properties totaling 221,600 sf were acquired by JFA Real Estate LLC for $3.3 million. Jay's Foods Inc. will lease those facilities for at least 10 years as part of the tax increment financing deal, which obligates the company to keep at least 350 employed at its 99th Street operations.

The redevelopment includes building a warehouse, eliminating the need to store snack foods in trucks parked on its 15-acre site. The overhaul will result in the need to spend 40% less on operations there, company officials say. The outdated and inefficient facilities were among the reasons the previous Jay's was forced into bankruptcy, city officials say.

"Jay's has been a staple in this facility and we'd like to see them stay," says 6th Ward Alderman Todd Stroger. "The expansion they're doing probably should've been done two decades ago."