Project Description
During the Great Depression, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) assembled teams of well-regarded architects to design much-needed housing for low-income families throughout Chicago. Almost a century later, one such development, Julia C. Lathrop Homes, is undergoing a comprehensive transformation.
Part of Chicago Housing Authorities’ (CHA’s) groundbreaking Plan for Transformation, which seeks to combine CHA, affordable and market rate housing into single, mixed-income developments, Lathrop will continue the tradition of collaboration begun at its inception.
Development partners Related Midwest, Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation and Heartland Housing—together, Lathrop Community Partners—are overseeing the project. The design team includes JGMA, Design Architect; HED, Executive Architect; Michael Van Valkenburgh (MVVA), Landscape Architect; and McGuire Igleski & Associates (MIA), Exterior Preservationist.
The HED team contributed its integrated design expertise and extensive housing experience to modernize the historic structures; incorporate health, wellness and sustainability strategies; redesign systems for efficiency and effectiveness; address accessibility; and provide LEED documentation for two additional structures on this site. The overall project will seek LEED and Green Enterprise Community certification, becoming one of the largest Green Enterprise Communities to date.
Upon completion, the revitalized Lathrop will be a bustling, diverse and sustainable community on Chicago’s rapidly evolving riverfront.