Constructed as a Sears Distribution Center in 1927, the building grew into a major economic engine. However, by 1983 it sat abandoned, indicative of the modern trend of disposability and urban disinvestment. Through a meticulous and collaborative design process, the redevelopment has rekindled the building, as well as reinstated a sense of civic pride. The blend of retail, restaurants, fitness, health, educational and professional spaces, in addition to market-rate housing, works in unison to create a new community paradigm.
A series of cost conscious architectural extractions and insertions have produced a vibrant new community that encourages discovery. Infused with the spirit of the building’s historic distribution system, seven new atria and their corresponding street-like corridors, transport natural light into public spaces. These reimagined spaces inspire participation and collaboration, catalyzing a community movement that challenges possibility. Credits: - Looney Ricks Kiss - Architect, Sustainable Consultant, Historic Consultant, Residential Architect - Crosstown LLC - Developer/Owner - Structural Design Group - Structural Engineer - Grinder, Taber, & Grinder, Inc. - General Contractor - ARUP - Lighting and Acoustics Consultant - SR Consulting - Civil Engineer - Hood Design Studio - Landscape Architect - WJE - Envelope Consultant - Spatial Affairs Bureau - Associate Architect - OGCB - MEPF Engineer - Loaded for Bear - Signage/Branding/Wayfinding - Newcomb & Boyd - Mechanical Consultant - DIALOG - Associate Architect