Over the past four years, nonprofit real estate developer, IFF worked in the North Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago with the Foundation for Homan Square and the Homan Square Community Advisory Council to create a pipeline of 17 development projects for increasing affordable housing and mixed-use spaces.
In April of 2019, FHS and IFF secured 14 vacant parcels in Homan Square through a Cook County Land Bank Authority (CCLBA) Land Agreement. Redeveloping these 14 lots into affordable housing represents one of the 17 projects in the development pipeline. While the development team sets up project proposals and secures funding for permanent uses of the parcels, the Community Advisory Council has emphasized the need to activate the vacant lots with cultural programming so they become assets to the community while awaiting permanent use. To do this, IFF partnered with Management Studio to develop and implement concepts for cultural programming.
During the Fall 2021 semester, the Management Studio team focused heavily on the research of the Homan Square neighborhood and Chicago history and meeting with the Community Advisory Council and neighborhood artists to propose and develop concepts for public programming which built on past ideas and shaped new ones. Research areas included neighborhood history, housing policy and structural segregation in Chicago, and efforts to mitigate the impact of gentrification on residents. The project asked how cultural programming can be a source of community power and expression during change. In the Spring 2022 Semester, the team focused on implementation plans for fall 2022.
In April of 2019, FHS and IFF secured 14 vacant parcels in Homan Square through a Cook County Land Bank Authority (CCLBA) Land Agreement. Redeveloping these 14 lots into affordable housing represents one of the 17 projects in the development pipeline. While the development team sets up project proposals and secures funding for permanent uses of the parcels, the Community Advisory Council has emphasized the need to activate the vacant lots with cultural programming so they become assets to the community while awaiting permanent use. To do this, IFF partnered with Management Studio to develop and implement concepts for cultural programming.
During the Fall 2021 semester, the Management Studio team focused heavily on the research of the Homan Square neighborhood and Chicago history and meeting with the Community Advisory Council and neighborhood artists to propose and develop concepts for public programming which built on past ideas and shaped new ones. Research areas included neighborhood history, housing policy and structural segregation in Chicago, and efforts to mitigate the impact of gentrification on residents. The project asked how cultural programming can be a source of community power and expression during change. In the Spring 2022 Semester, the team focused on implementation plans for fall 2022.