Groundbreaking for New Public Space in Austin Neighborhood
Chicago’s Austin neighborhood is getting a new multi-purpose space on the southeast corner of Chicago and Lockwood Avenues. Groundbreaking was held last week for Pop Courts. Rendering of Pop Courts (via The Lamar Johnson Collaborative) Designed by The Lamar Johnson Collaborative, Pop Courts is part of the city’s INVEST South/West program, and replaces a vacant lot with something better. The designers sum it up best: Food truck...
Mayor’s Invest South/West Program May Save An Art Moderne Bank Building
We’re starting to see the first signs of something more than press releases coming out of Mayor Lightfoot’s INVEST South/West program to revitalize chronically overlooked portions of the city. One of those signs is a proposal to redevelop the old Laramie State Bank building on Chicago Avenue in the city’s Austin neighborhood. August 2020 rendering of 5200 West Chicago (Via the Chicago Department of Planning and...
City Hall’s South/West Side Revitalization Plan Much Ado About Nothing
If you read an announcement about something that described itself as “unprecedented,” “inclusive,” “comprehensively focused,” and “meaningful,” you might think it’s the latest bit of smoke and mirrors out of a California tech company’s PR wing. You probably wouldn’t expect it from Chicago City Hall. This week’s big announcement that the city is going to do...