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Englewood School Repurposing Update

In case you were wondering what is happening with all the Englewood schools that were shuttered last year, we wanted to provide you all with a status update in regards to our work we’ve been in engaged in over the past 18 months.

The Journey…..

As mentioned at our last Englewood Village meeting in July, there is a committed core team of individuals working to see a shuttered school in Englewood repurposed for the greater good of this community. Since the beginning of 2013, our core team has met with various partners along this journey.

This year we partnered with IIT Institute of Design and together we hosted focus groups, conducted surveys with residents of Englewood, met with our elected officials, hosted a number of meetings and a five-hour lockdown retreat to formulate concepts around repurposing a school in Englewood.

Some of the concepts that were captured included an Urban Agricultural Training Center Hub, Workforce Housing Development, a Holistic Wellness Center, Technology Incubator, Organizer’s Institute among other innovative ideas.

Where we are now?

Our core team has narrowed our focus on Yale Elementary School located at 70 & Princeton and has started the process of meeting with development partners and representatives from the city. We are in the process of scheduling a walk through in order to create a concrete feasibility study for this facility.

Next Steps…

Currently, many of the shuttered CPS schools are now on the market for the highest bidders. We are working with developers to have a completed feasibility study to share with the community-at-large, bid & secure the shuttered building and move forward with the planning process to make the best concept a reality.

We thank all the partners who contributed their insight, ideas, and commitment throughout this journey. Please stay tuned for more updates!

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