Englewood Connect, an incubator for small businesses and entrepreneurs in Chicago’s Englewood neighborhood, will expand upon recent neighborhood investments to create a local commerce and culinary ecosystem, greater connectivity and pedestrian access, and flexible public spaces. Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) and TnS Studio are designing the project.
The project is designed to elevate Englewood residents through a mixed-use, phased development strategy focused around a flexible public space called the Green Street Commons. A proposed pavilion with operable windows and doors, dubbed The Englewood Living Room, will be open year-round, allowing for markets, co-working spaces, exhibitions, and places for the community to gather and engage with one another.
“We envision a dynamic mix of community spaces, accessible to all local residents and connected to the surrounding neighborhoods,” said Dawveed Scully, Urban Planning Associate Director, SOM, in a release. “With flexible spaces that can be used year-round, our plan creates an ecosystem that cultivates upward mobility anchored by entrepreneurialism.”
The design also restores the landmark “castle” Firehouse station, one of Englewood’s historic assets. The 1929 building will be transformed into a multi-purpose venue tailored to the community’s needs. The space will connect nearby amenities to the site and create a platform for small business growth.
Englewood Connect's portfolio centers around community growth and enhancing underutilized spaces, with work in Englewood ranging from design collaborations with students and local construction opportunities, to small business expansion.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Silver Award: Palmer House Hilton Hotel & Shops Chicago, Ill.
Chicago's Palmer House Hilton holds the record for the longest continuously operated hotel in North America. It was originally built in 1871 by Potter Palmer, one of America's first millionaire developers. When it was rebuilt after the Great Chicago Fire it became the first hotel in the U.S. to put a telephone in every room.
| Aug 11, 2010
Gulf Coast Hotel's Stormy Road to Recovery
After his initial tour of the dilapidated 1850s-era Battle House Hotel, Ron Blount, construction manager with Retirement Systems of Alabama, said to his boss: “You need a priest more than you need a contractor.” Those words were more prescient to RSA's restoration of the historic Mobile landmark than he could have known at the time.
| Aug 11, 2010
Lifestyle Hotel Trends Around the World
When the Rocco Forte Collection opens the Verdura Golf & Spa Resort in Sicily in early 2009, the 200-room luxury property will be one of the world's newest lifestyle hotels. Lifestyle hotels cater to guests seeking a heightened travel experience, which they deliver by offering distinctive—some would say avant-garde, or even outrageous—architecture, room design, amenities, and en...
