C40 Garfield Park

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POAH is part of a development team chosen by the City of Chicago in the spring of 2019 to design a “net zero and resilient” residential community in the Garfield Park neighborhood of Chicago tentatively called Garfield Green. The team consists of POAH, Perkins + Will, Nia Architects, Skender Construction, dbHMS , Terra Engineering, RME, and Omni Ecosystems.

The site is located at the corner of Kedzie and 5th Avenues on the west side of Chicago, 4 miles from the loop. The team will build 77 homes in two phases, the first an apartment building at 201 S. Kedzie to start in late 2021 and in the second phase, a homeownership development at 3150 E. 5th Avenue to start in 2022.    Both buildings will have community and retail space on the first floor.  

The vision for Garfield Green was developed in response to an international competition created by the C40 Network that invites cities around the world to generate projects that responded to their “10 Challenges for Climate.”  The plan is for Garfield Green to be an affordable housing community in a Passive-House certified, net zero building which will save residents money on heating and electricity, foster a strong sense of community and to be a model for resilient construction in the City of Chicago.    

Some of the features included in the C40 Garfield Park competition proposal were:

• Solar power to completely offset the buildings’ energy use;  
• Green roofs and extensive native landscaping and mature trees;
• Efficient heating and cooling system and lighting;
• Water-saving plumbing fixtures and on-site storm water retention;
• Highly insulated roof, walls and windows;
• Composting and recycling for residents;
• Modular construction, which will be built in Chicago at Skender’s Chicago factory;
• Additionally, the application also incorporates community amenities, economic development opportunities and resident services to help them achieve:
• Prioritizing local residents for job and contracting opportunities
• Commitments to hire City workers and Minority and Women-Owned Businesses;
• Partnerships with area schools;
• Enhanced connections to buses and trains in the area;
• Sidewalk improvements;
• Cafes and locally-run neighborhood businesses
• Prioritizing a building’s use for health-care related services determine by the neighborhood’s needs;
• Resident services and high-quality property management;
• Public art and children’s play spaces.

For more information on opportunities for involvement, to receive regular updates or to leave a comment about the project, please email c40chicago@poah.org or call Molly at 312-283-0033 or Felicia at 312-635-2434.