What Should This Building Become?

July 17, 2018 / Blogs

In winter 2018, Woodlawn residents helped plan the future of the historic bank building at the Cottage Grove Green Line station.

Final Report

Read the final report, which includes four preferred community-led development scenarios for the Washington Park National Bank Building at 6300 S. Cottage Grove Ave. near the Cottage Grove Green Line station. If you’re thirsty for more detail, the appendix contains all the participants’ development ideas, as well as survey poll results.

Wooden blocks gave participants a hands-on way to simulate proposed development

The Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC), in partnership with the Cook County Land Bank, coordinated and facilitated a series of three workshops in Woodlawn that collected resident input for the redevelopment of the vacant building. Earlier this year, the Cook County Land Bank acquired this property through the scavenger sale.

Need more context? Want to catch up? Dig into these educational materials

The following resources will educate you about the site and what was discussed at community meetings.

The final Woodlawn CDI report, including:
- a letter from Rob Rose, Executive Director the Cook County Land Bank Authority
- information about the Corridor Development Initiative process
- background information on Woodlawn
- summaries of all three community meetings
- renderings of the four preferred scenarios for the redevelopment of the Washington Park National Bank Building
General information. Learn about the site, zoning, tax increment financing (TIF), and more.
PowerPoint slides from meeting 1 (Jan. 30), meeting 2 (Feb. 6) and meeting 3 (Feb. 20)
Mini-packet from meeting 2 (Feb. 6), for the “block exercise” development simulator
Packet from meeting 3 (Feb. 20), including sketches of proposed developments.

The meetings were held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 30, Tuesday, Feb. 6 and Tuesday, Feb. 20 at Harris Park, 6200 S. Drexel.

A sample from our informative 18-page packet, offering background on the site, equitable transit-oriented development, zoning, etc.

These meetings are part of a Corridor Development Initiative, a participatory planning process that allows communities to proactively plan for real-world development scenarios. This three-part planning process helps residents understand issues such as density, affordable housing and the true cost of development, while creating a set of priorities to guide community leaders as they plan for future development in their neighborhoods.

The Metropolitan Planning Council is a Chicago-based non-profit that focuses on urban planning and policy challenges in the greater Chicago region.

The Cook County Land Bank Authority acquires, holds, and transfers interest in real property throughout Cook County to: promote redevelopment and reuse of vacant, abandoned, foreclosed or tax-delinquent properties; support targeted efforts to stabilize neighborhoods; stimulate residential, commercial and industrial development.

Hosted by the Metropolitan Planning Council and the Cook County Land Bank Authority. For general questions, contact Manager Kendra Freeman at kfreeman@metroplanning.org or at 312.863.6027.

MPC thanks our partners at the Cook County Land Bank Authority and the Chicago Park District for helping us make this initiative possible.