A zoning application has been submitted for an expansion of the Ed Paschke Art Center at 5415 W Higgins Avenue in Jefferson Park. Located near the corner with N Long Avenue across from the neighborhood’s namesake park, the addition is the first phase of what will be a larger arts campus. Ed Paschke along with Chicago Art Center are the developers of the addition which is being designed by Sandberg Architecture & Design Inc.
Details have been revealed for the mixed-use expansion of the Black Ensemble Theater (BE) at 4453 N Clark Street in Uptown. Located directly across the street from the theater’s current home just south of the intersection with W Sunnyside Avenue, the new structure will expand the campus to create a cultural corridor. Originally imagined in 2009, the theater is now moving forward with enlarged plans dubbed ‘The Free To Be Village’ designed by Nia Architects, Gensler, and Site Design Group.
A final landmark recommendation has been made by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks for the Epworth Church at 5153 N Kenmore Avenue in Edgewater. Located south of the intersection with W Berwyn Avenue near Foster Beach, the structure’s landmark efforts were set off due to a demolition permit applied for last year by an undisclosed developer. Now the commission has recommended the approval of its landmark status to the church and adjoining community house.
Funding has been announced for the new home of The American Blues Theater at 5627 N Lincoln Avenue in West Ridge. Located just north of the intersection with W Bryn Mawr Avenue and near Rosehill Cemetery, the theater will be redeveloping a one-story commercial building built in 1985 that previously housed a Dollar General. Morris Architects Planners are leading the structure’s re-design with Schuler Shook supplying the theater systems.
As the 21st entry in YIMBY’s year-end countdown, the Obama Presidential Center continues to rise in Hyde Park. Planned by The Obama Foundation, the complex will feature three occupiable buildings within its Jackson Park site, including a museum, a forum building, and a new library branch. In addition to these buildings, the center will also include outdoor areas with play spaces, walking paths, sledding hills, and a pedestrian promenade.
