A ribbon cutting has been held for the new Cultivate Collective community hub at 4942 W 44th Street in Garfield Ridge. Located just west of the intersection with S Cicero Avenue, the development replaced a vacant lot that was once part of the LeClaire Courts housing complex. The project itself was developed by Cultivate Collective who worked with the Academy for Global Citizenship and Greater Southwest Development Corp.
Rendering of Cultivate Collective via Pritzker Traubert Foundation
Photo of Cultivate Collective opening via Cultivate Collective
Efforts to bring this hub to the neighborhood began over two-decades ago with local organizers. The result of nearly 20 years of planning and fundraising, the project has opened its doors after winning partial funding from the Pritzker Foundation late last year. Spanning across the multi-acre site next to the LeClaire Courts-Hearst Park, the three-story structure rises nearly 40-feet and is clad in multi-colored metal panels.
Photo of Cultivate Collective opening via DPD
Photo of Cultivate Collective opening via Corporate Coalition of Chicago
Inside a majority of the space will be for a relocated Academy for Global Citizenship K-8 public school and an early childhood Head Start center with kindergarten services. The remaining space holds a community health center with sports courts, a Chicago Recovery Plan-funded marketplace and six-reaching kitchens. These will be partially supported by a three-acre urban farm, hoping to address multiple disinvestment caused food-based issues.
Photo of Cultivate Collective opening via Corporate Coalition of Chicago
Photo of Cultivate Collective opening via Corporate Coalition of Chicago
With a total cost of $53 million, the Gensler-designed project also included; new walking trails to help promote healthy lifestyles and rooftop solar panels allowing the building to generate 105-percent of its own energy. The ribbon cutting was attended by local officials and organizers, with a public open house planned for this Wednesday the 18th from 5-8pm.
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These colorful panels are very popular these days, but I’m concerned about how they’ll age. Does anyone know what they tend to look like in 20 years? I’m concerned that they’ll start crack or flake and needed repainting will look tacky.