The historic Pullman neighborhood is getting 38 units of affordable housing inside a new $18 million artists’ enclave—some 124 years after Pullman railroad car workers went on strike over the company’s refusal to lower their rents after cutting their pay.
Alspaugh volunteers as a community member; the project architect is the Chicago firm of Stantec (formerly VOA). Alspaugh said she’s satisfied that the lofts fit in with the surrounding historic architecture. The developers modified the plans after residents expressed concerns and after reviews by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks and the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.
Pullman Arts, the neighborhood nonprofit, will curate and operate the gallery space for artists’ showings, performances, and meetups. The Lofts’ hallways and corridors are also intended to be space where residents can create murals and other works, Michaelson said.
The most dramatic increases in college graduates and six-figure households took place in an area bordered by the Bishop Ford Freeway to the east, 103rd Street to the north, Cottage Grove Avenue to the west, and 111th Street to the south. The area includes the 180-acre Pullman Park, a $125 million mixed-use site that has created 800 new jobs.
