At 2933 W Division Street in Humboldt Park, the construction of a new health and wellness center continues to advance, with the building’s shell now in place. Valued at $24 million, the center covers an area of 45,500 square feet and reaches a height of 62 feet. This three-story building is a collaborative effort between Humboldt Park Health and the architectural firm JGMA. The curved design will be clad in an iridescent facade, composed of blue and green metal paneling and glass curtain wall cut-outs.
2933 W Division Street. Photo by Jack Crawford
2933 W Division Street. Photo by Jack Crawford
2933 W Division Street. Photo by Jack Crawford
2933 W Division Street. Rendering by JGMA
2933 W Division Street. Rendering by JGMA
The ground floor of the center will feature a corner lobby, a 6,400-square-foot pool room, locker rooms, a sports medicine clinic, and a kids club. The second floor will add to this programming with an 8,500-square-foot fitness area, encircled by an indoor track. This floor will also come with a group exercise room, a mind/body studio, a group cycle room, and additional restrooms.
2933 W Division Street. Photo by Jack Crawford
2933 W Division Street. Photo by Jack Crawford
2933 W Division Street. Photo by Jack Crawford
First floor plan of 2933 W Division Street by JGMA
Second and third floor plan of 2933 W Division Street by JGMA
The third and top floor is designated to house a 1,245-square-foot pre-function and gathering area, a 1,600-square-foot community room, two lecture rooms, additional restrooms, and an outdoor terrace that includes a green roof.
Rendering of 2933 W Division Street by JGMA
Parking will be provided via a 163-space lot located along Richmond Street, obviating the need for an on-site garage. For the closest public transit, bus service Route 70 stops can be found at the nearby Division & Richmond intersection, while Route 94 is accessible within a five-minute walk at California & Division.
2933 W Division Street. Photo by Jack Crawford
2933 W Division Street. Photo by Jack Crawford
Rendering of 2933 W Division Street by JGMA
The project’s completion, overseen by All Masonry Construction as the general contractor, is anticipated by the end of this year.
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Bravo attempting to breath new life into the city, but, if this building was an object in the park, I’d buy the design, even watered down as it seems to be. As a neighbor to fine historic Chicago apartment buildings, its like a green (slimy) spaceship crashed to earth. One of the first decisions in the design of the building is understanding the context of the site when thinking about the appropriate design strategy. Clearly JGMA had a green blob in mind for any location.
Yeah… cry us a river.
What about the HISTORICAL CONTEXT?!?
The site has been empty for over a decade. Years? Across the street to the left is a church made of cinder blocks. It looks good but that thing is far from looking “historical” by your weird definition. There are at least 20 empty/underutilized lots within 1/2 mile of this site. 8 significantly sized parking lots occupy open land around this site.
The only thing historic is bad city planning right across the street from a beautiful asset full of trees and open space to play. Maybe also mention how historically bad the street designs are. Not a single protected bike lane, little to no high-speed driving mitigations, and zero covered structures for any bus stops.
Quite down with the “historical” bs.
You might look at the City Beautiful movement, and the Burnham Plan, and, enjoy the classical grid of streets that gives Chicago it’s particular character. Then, the rows of Chicago Bungalows and three story masonry apartment buildings.
The empty lots and bad infill take away from that, as much as the bulbous pretentions of blob buildings. I don’t think I’ll be “quite” yet. I think you meant to shuuush me!!! lol
There is no “historical context” in Chicago. A building with Spanish ornamentation sits next to a building with fake Tudor half timbering next to a Greco-Roman temple. The older buildings were built a century ago, they have that in common, and are mostly brick. But that doesn’t really qualify as historically contextual in a meaningful way. They are beautifully put together though. But that was because the carpenters, bricklayers, masons, etc. were poorly paid.
People didn’t like impressionist painting or jazz, because it was new and unfamiliar.
There is value in infill buildings that blend with their surroundings, but it’s not the only valid option.
I’m still undecided myself as to whether this is a good building or not, and I suggest looking at the building itself rather than the context.
Cities change bro.
Thank goodness this project can be “marked safe” from the NIMBYS.
In a majority Hispanic/Latino neighborhood, with a project that’s built by a very proud firm with similar roots, I’m sure they developed something contextually meaningful that empowers their community.
Folks love their Zaha, Ghery, BIG, etc. It takes time to adjust, but even Gaudii was hated for most of his creations. And today, the public can’t get enough and flock by the millions to see.
This rec center is no Sagrada Familia or Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, but it’s something to inspire and add some life.
Paris would suck if it stayed frozen in time. Mexico City has some impressive contemporary architecture. Even Venice has its portion of new-age. Healthy cities evolve.
People flock to Paris because Paris is Paris….they don’t flock to La Defense to experience the skyscrapers….likewise the Medina in Casablanca, the center of Rome, etc. I’m not saying Chicago should be stuck in a historical funk, but, I don’t think making a green blob says Hispanic, and, as communities come to Chicago, they come to Chicago. I love going to Lima or Mexico City to experience the architecture and cultures of those cities. Otherwise, we might as all live in a McDonalds parking lot.
A design and color palate that belongs in Miami. In its current location, not nearly so much; not at all, actually.
It sticks out like a sore thumb.
I think that sticking out is the whole idea of the design along a rather dull and uninspired streetscape. These comments typify why there’s the perception of the Midwest as dull, flyover country. None of the buildings that people hold so dear today would exist if previous generations had also been so conservative and exercised so much influence over the city’s architecture. Thank God for something different, bold, and colorful, for once. I find it refreshing.
just for the record Greg, I get no better feeling than walking down Michigan Ave in Evanston seeing the long row of houses with porches aligned, all being neighborly and while having architectural differences, respecting a certain sense of “residentiality”. The one “modern” brick box that breaks the rhythm is like hitting the wrong note on the piano. The street is not dull, it creates a sense of order. I’m all for bold and colorful, but I will restate that I think its the wrong blob in the wrong location. It’s an object building in a site that doesn’t call for an object building. It could have been a building that respected it’s context and then, had architectural flourishes that respond to interior functions and it’s community. That is perhaps a different point of view or more a more difficult task. Zaha seemed to pave the way for a world where we all live on the moon, and sometimes that’s breathtaking. I don’t think this was the location for a moonwalk.
Enough said.