Courtesy of 2016 AIA Housing Awards

• A vibrant arts and cultural hub for Chicago’s Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood
• Project embodies a successful collaboration between private, public, and non-profit sectors committed to transforming the neighborhood into a cultural incubator through the reactivation of abandoned buildings and cultural foundations in the under-invested neighborhood
• Features a rehabilitation block of 32 of the original 36 two- and three-bedroom townhouse units that now provide mixed-income housing
• 4 of the center units were removed to create the focus of the development:
  • 2200 sf Arts Center with a dance studio, work and tech shops, public meeting space
  • Offers art creation, education, performances and display space for people of all ages
  • Supports variety of programs (life-planning class, a neighborhood ensemble band, and a weekly gathering of residents to brainstorm ways for improving the area)
• Has an even distribution of low-income, affordable, and market rate units
• 72% of the occupants are at or below 80% AMI
• The first project in the nation to provide artist residences in public housing
• The project endeavors to incite a community revitalization that is culture-based, artist-led and neighborhood-driven