An official groundbreaking has been held for the first phase of the upcoming Woodlawn Central development at roughly 6309 South Dorchester Avenue. Initially announced in 2022, the greater multi-lot proposal will gradually replace multiple surface parking lots surrounding the Apostolic Church of God, who owns the property and is behind the project.
Site massing of Woodlawn Central phase one by Gensler
Site massing of Woodlawn Central phase one by Gensler
Said initial phase will occupy a large wedge-shaped lot to the east of the church, spanning an entire block and sliced by the adjacent Metra Electric tracks and 63rd Street station. Architecture firm Gensler is behind the design of the single structure, consisting of a three-story shared podium and two 11-story towers above, capping out at a combined 160 feet in height.
Rendering of Woodlawn Central phase one by Gensler
Inside the podium will be over 26,000 square feet of commercial space split into four separate spots. The largest sits on the southern end of the site and is earmarked for a food market, while a 3,000-square-foot leasable commercial space will sit mid-block, with the remaining space located on the northern end and serving as food and beverage spots for the hotel.
Floor plans of Woodlawn Central phase one by Gensler
With a fully activated streetfront, the upper two levels will hold a 300-space parking garage to be used by residents, visitors, and the church congregation. This will be capped by a large outdoor deck shared by both towers. The north tower will hold 160 hotel rooms and a full amenity floor. Similarly, the south tower will contain 104 residential units and an amenity floor.
Rendering of Woodlawn Central phase one by Gensler
The unit make-up will consist of eight studios, 48 one-bedroom, 40 two-bedroom, and eight three-bedroom layouts. There will be a total of 22 affordable units on-site as well. The combined cost for this phase will be $134 million per the city’s press release; the ceremony kicked off nearly two years of construction, with an anticipated completion date in Q2 of 2028.
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I bet they’ll ask the city to restore the Green Line branch next – you know, the portion they themselves advocated to be torn down.
And? The branch should be restored, that should have happened with the Obama Library construction
I’m not saying it shouldn’t be restored – just pointing out the potential irony.
The original proponents for tearing it down are all gone or dead but the organizations that backed tearing it down – their successors – are behind the Woodlawn Central. So yes the irony is strong.
As someone in the 50s and 60s who took the Stony Island bus to the green line to get downtown I thought it was very short sighted to tear it down. But hey you couldn’t argue with Leon Finney nor TWO and that mega church pastor without being called racist.
Agreed it should be. The south and south west sides need a lot more transit. And we also need to make it much easier and quicker for the L and Metra lines to run through downtown, not terminate there. This is what cities like London have been working on for decades now.
The west side has a lot of transit: blue line, green line, frequent bus lines on Madison and Grand.
What the west side really needs is infill and dense development.
Some N-S and E-W connections for both the South and West Sides that don’t loop through downtown would be huge, but with buses accounted for, all areas are pretty well connected; we need faster options.
But before we can justify more, we gotta maximize what we have. Until 2/3 of the vacant land directly across from stations is developed, we don’t have much ground to stand on when advocating for more.
Is there any indication this is the case? I assume they would strongly oppose an elevated line running past their roof deck. If they’re on board with a future green line extension (or a reconfiguration of, e.g., the purple line to run it N-S through downtown and down this branch) that would be a huge win for the city.
Society in general pushed a car-culture from the 50’s onward – that is why there is an endless wasteland of cheaply built subdivisions on the most fertile topsoil on the planet – the push to tear down the El to Stony Island was part of that. A reflection on the direction our society was headed – and, stupidly, is still headed in that direction – climate be damned.
ok, but so what? they advocated for something and might in the future advocate for the opposite. so what?
So is the housing here for everybody, or are only “the right people” going to be encouraged to live here?
Good god dude
Huh? What’s that even mean. They most definitely want to make money, probably will be mostly UofC kids.
You could try applying to see that but that would mean leaving your bubble.
Tupper coming in hot with another racial-based hypothetical!
If it is profitable, it would be lovely if they returned some or all of the $30M state grant. The ACOG LLC is tax-exempt and wholly owned by the ACOG, which is also tax-exempt. The fine line between separation of state and church is a bit dusty.
Nice, curtain wall employed to celebrate the empty stairwells! Money wisely spent!
I mean, if they’re willing to pay for it, I’m not going to stop them.
Beautiful building. Hope the final version matches this rendering.