Cermak Road Creative Industry District
RFQ issued for Phase 1 Planning and Design Guidelines
Imagine recording your music in the factory where Muddy Waters worked. Or mounting a theater production where The Untouchables was filmed. Envision creating and manufacturing your fashion line in a shared workspace overlooking the Chicago River, with a view of downtown Chicago....
The Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE) and the Department of Housing and Economic Development (DHED) issued a Request for Qualifications for Consultant Teams To Prepare Guidelines For Physical Planning,
Streetscape Master Plan, Urban Design Guidelines, Preservation Planning
and Adaptive Reuse Objectives for Phase 1, Part 1 of the Cermak Creative
Industry District. Deadline for responses is March 1, 2011
A complete description of the RFQ may be found here.
The Cermak Road Creative Industry District is a landmarked historic district comprised of 4 warehouses totalling 800,000 square feet, and nestled along the Chicago River between Chinatown, Pilsen, Bridgeport and the South Loop. It is 4 blocks west of the CTA Chinatown Red Line stop. The district was recently re-zoned to include creative industry uses, such as Artist Work Space, Restaurant, Retail, Entertainment, High Tech Office, and Artisan Manufacturing.
In 2007, the City of Chicago commissioned the Urban Land Institute and the Campaign for Sensible Growth to conduct a "Technical Assistance Panel" looking at the Cermak buildings as a potential Creative Industry District. Read their findings at this link.
In 2010, the National Endowment of the Arts / Mayors Office of City Design awarded the City of Chicago a matching grant of $250,000 to undertake planning and incubator development for theses buildings. The planning process began in 2011.
Additional DCA research on creative industries, districts and artists may be found at this link on CAR.
To learn more about the Wendnagle Warehouse, at 600 W. Cermak, by contacting Richard Larson rlarson@kritt.com
To learn more about the Riverfront Work Lofts, contact Cindi Clark at cgclark-riverfront@sbcglobal.net