MONTHLY ARCHIVES: SEPTEMBER 2016

WHOLE FOODS MARKET IN ENGLEWOOD IS OPEN FOR BUSINESS!

Located in a community with few options for fresh and healthy foods, shoppers cheered with excitement as the New Whole Foods store opened its doors last Wednesday. Shoppers stood in a persistent line out the front door and even withstood passing rain showers to check out the new Whole Foods.

The Store is part of a larger, 13-acre development located near Kennedy King Community College. The new market provides access to fresh, healthy, natural and organic food for the residents of Englewood and South side neighborhoods. This particular Whole Foods Store follows a new model from their traditional store. While the store is slightly smaller, it has more conventional produce included with organic options and a focus on “365” house brand and prepared foods.

Now that the new Whole Foods is open, 2,648 more residents in Englewood will be within a mile of a grocery store, which means a 3.3 percent decline in the total residents living in low-income areas who are more than a mile from a large grocery store.

The $3.6 million, one-story 17,000 square foot interior build-out of the grocery store was led by Mike Sexton (Project Manager) and Commodore Warren (Project Superintendent). The project team also included Dan O’Laughlin (Project Executive), Sharon Mayer (Senior Estimator), Jeremy Booker (Project Engineer), and Kelly Powers Baria (Director of Business Development).

GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY FOR LA CASA NORTE

On Friday, September 9, 2016, La Casa Norte broke ground for its new vibrant Pierce House and Community Center located at 3533 W. North Avenue. The new facility will feature 25 affordable housing units and a community center with services designed to serve homeless families, youth and disabled individuals experiencing homelessness in the Humboldt Park Community and beyond.

The five-story, mixed-use building includes ground-floor space for a teen center, a food pantry, a teaching kitchen, and a health and wellness center. The second floor includes office space, a community meeting space and an art gallery. Educational spaces for adult classes, a clothing closet and other services for the homeless will be located in the building’s lower level.

La Casa Norte is one of Chicago’s key provider of services to homeless youth and families with more than 14 years of proven effectiveness in the community. The new facility is one of La Casa Norte’s largest projects in its history and it will become an anchor of redevelopment of the North Avenue Corridor in Chicago’s Humboldt Park Community.

La Casa Norte currently serves approximately 2,000 individuals yearly. The development of the Pierce House will enable the organization to double the amount of support services to 4,000 clients across the city each year.

The new center is expected to open in 2018.

Our project team tasked with constructing this inspirational new Community Center will be led by Dan O’Laughlin (Senior Project Manager), Sharon Mayer (Senior Estimator), and Drew Smith (Senior Superintendent).  Powers & Sons is proud to be a part of the Development and Project Team for this exciting opportunity for the Humboldt Park Community.