Woodlawn Neighborhood Master Plan

In partnership with the Brazier Foundation, the Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH), and Greenlining USA, Gensler Chicago crafted a 10-year comprehensive redevelopment master plan strategy for the 550-acre Woodlawn neighborhood, a distressed community on Chicago’s South Side. With more than 19% of the neighborhood’s land vacant, Gensler’s plan builds on existing assets in the area including public transit, recreation spaces, and proximity to the University of Chicago and Lake Michigan.

With a focus on the 63rd Street and Cottage Grove Corridors — primary streets that run through the center of the Woodlawn neighborhood — the plan emphasizes mixed-use development around underutilized parcels adjacent to existing transit stations and leverages strategic infill development within the interior of the neighborhood. The redevelopment strategy also establishes a framework for new residential and retail development in Woodlawn, as well as employment opportunities based on a supply chain model closely tied to the University of Chicago. Consistent with the plan, Gensler has partnered with Greenlining USA to develop a Phase 1 residential infill strategy for the western part of the community, calling for 65 units of mixed-income housing.