The Shaw Company for The Homan Square Community Center

When the Shaw Company began the redevelopment of the 55-acre Sears headquarters site in the early 90's, the revitalization of the North Lawndale community was hardly more than a dream. Today, Homan Square includes a thriving mix of single-family homes, duplexes, townhomes, rental apartments and over one million square-feet of new commercial development. But revitalizing communities requires more than just building new housing and commercial space. Last year, the Shaw Company - working with the Homan Square Community Center Foundation and Chicago Park District - created a unifying element for Homan Square and the South Lawndale Community with the completion of the Homan Square Community Center. Comprised of two connected buildings with gabled skylights and soaring interior spaces, the center provides space for a broad spectrum of community services. One building houses a field house owned by the Chicago Park District. The second building, called the Health and Family Pavilion, is leased to five non-profit agencies that offer healthcare and family support services, health education and job training. Nearby, a new YMCA daycare facility, a to-be-expanded Boler Park and the Milton Gregory School complete a complex of community and public spaces rarely seen in urban communities. Combined with the new retail development of Lawndale Plaza, the Homan Square Community Center is serving as the anchor of a renewed Lawndale community.