A construction permit issued by the City of Chicago on January 30 will allow the Chicago South Side Birth Center to build a new facility at East 83rd Street and South Shore Drive in South Chicago. Assigned to the address of 8301 South South Shore Drive, the permit’s application is dated May 23, 2025, and it came with a reported cost of $6.8 million.
Site context of 8301 S South Shore Drive, via Google Maps
The permit calls for the renovation of the two-story plus basement building on the site. The former home of the Morning Star Bible Baptist Church, it was purchased in 2023 per a report last year by Block Club detailing a $3.3 million grant from the city. Next to the existing structure, a two-story plus basement addition will be erected. There will be three surface parking spaces, fencing, and a trash enclosure outside. Plans for the facility were created by SMNG A Ltd of River North, and Norcon is the general contractor. A free-standing garage in the parking lot was permitted for demolition in December.
Block Club noted in their June 2025 report that CSSBC hoped to have the facility open this summer. With the permit not coming through until January 2026, it is not clear if that projected opening is still within reach.
The garage at left was permitted for demolition in December. Image via Google Street View
The facility will be about a mile west of the future Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park at the old South Works site. Public transportation is nearby for use by staff and clients, including the 83rd Street Metra Electric station three blocks west at 83rd and Commercial Avenue. Buses along Routes 26, 71, and N5 make stops will have stops on the intersection right outside the birth center.
Nearby transit options, via Google Maps
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Based on disparities in infant and maternal death rates in Chicago, this seems like a much-needed project for the neighborhood.
Interesting to see this in tandem with the new Advocate hospital being developed just a 1/4 mile NE, that was approved at the state level in June.