More than 40 community residents gathered at the Green Line Performing Arts Center this week to hear from University of Chicago representatives and partners on the latest University investments and opportunities in Washington Park. Speakers presented on a broad spectrum of community projects, answered attendee questions, and shared upcoming opportunities.
“We wanted to not only offer this presentation but, in a broader way, really start to open up more about what we’re trying to do at the University, what we’re planning, how we want to plan it in concert with the community, and how we want to be good neighbors,” Christian Mitchell, UChicago’s Vice President for Civic Engagement, told residents.
Mitchell, along with City Colleges of Chicago Chancellor Juan Salgado and Executive Director of UChicago Medicine’s Urban Health Initiative Franklin Cosey-Gay, provided an update on their institutions’ joint education to career pipeline project—a multifaceted dual-facility development and partnership designed to create new jobs and establish healthcare career pathways for South Side residents along Washington Park’s historic Garfield corridor. The project— a proposed UChicago Medicine lab and Malcolm X College Learning Center—was first announced in March. Mitchell said the University plans to host these types of meetings regularly going forward.
“This is the beginning of a very robust community engagement process,” Mitchell said of the project. “This is not the end.”
Other presenters at Tuesday’s event included Angelica Marks, Associate Vice President of UChicago Commercial Real Estate Operations, who shared an overview of the land the University owns in Washington Park, as well as London Walther, a planner for Chicago’s southeast region from the city’s Department of Planning and Development.
Attendees also learned about UChicago professor Paul Sereno’s recently-completed Fossil Lab on South Wabash Avenue in Washington Park. The lab, which opened its doors in May, plans to offer community engagement opportunities for local schools, students, and other visitors, Sereno said. The University’s Arts + Public Life team and Office of Civic Engagement then closed out the meeting with a rundown of upcoming summer programming community members can tap into including community yoga, First Monday Jazz, Vends + Vibes Arts Marketplace, Movies on the Midway, the Hyde Park Summer Music Series, and more.
To learn more, access the community meeting presentation slides here.
Questions? Email civicengagement@uchicago.edu or subscribe to the University’s civic engagement newsletter here.
