Improving on the (Woodard) plaza proposal

I attended the Public meeting March 8 regarding another public plaza proposal, this one at the triangle north of the Milwaukee-Kimball-Diversey intersection.  The meeting was reasonably well-attended, mostly by neighbors in the immediate vicinity, including representatives from the Crown Tap Room and the Hairpin Lofts and Logan Square Community Arts Center, two businesses that will be greatly impacted by whatever happens here.

With essentially the input of those two stakeholders and under the division of the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) tasked with this project–the Streetscape and Sustainable Design Program–CDOT set forth the use case for the community: 

Design goals and process

1. Create an active, urban public space.
2. Create a destination, frequented by all ages and lifestyles.
3. Integrate environmental initiatives by infiltrating storm water that falls on site.
4. Create a space for possible sustainable street innovations such as bike parking or WIFI.
5. Create places for art integration.
6. Coordinate improvements with the Hairpin Loft Building and Logan Square Community Arts Center.

Advertisement

Celebrating Hairpin Lofts!

Let’s put the Sachs/Payless moniker to rest and get used to Hairpin Lofts rolling off the tongue.

Tuesday was a day of celebration for the Hairpin Lofts and Logan Square Arts Center, the official “groundbreaking” for the project.

Of course there’s no real ground to break on a rehabilitation project.
Preliminary construction has already been underway.  You’ve probably noticed the scaffolding is up and parts of the sidewalk are closed (photo right) to allow for the ongoing construction of the project, slated for completion in about one year’s time.

But Tuesday was the ceremonial start and an opportunity for City of Chicago officials, the development and finance teams, the local arts (photo below) and preservation communities, and neighbors to officially welcome the long-awaited project.