BRONZEVILLE — Anticipation is building along with the actual construction of the Bronzeville Arts and Recreation Center at Ellis Park at 35th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue.
The new $17.5 million facility, expected to be completed about this time next year, will include a competitive pool, a full basketball court, a fitness room and meeting rooms and art spaces.
"It's something that has been needed for a very, very long time," said Bernita Johnson-Gabriel, executive director of the Quad Communities Development Corp., which has been monitoring the entire construction process.
Johnson-Gabriel pointed out Bronzeville doesn't have an indoor pool or a field house. "So this would definitely satisfy that need," she added.
"This really is timely," said Chicago Park District Supt. Mike Kelly. "It's a need for that area."
That doesn't necessarily mean a community in need gets what it requires.
"Everybody wants a state-of-the-art field house," Kelly said. "We don't have the funding to deliver."
Yet Kelly immediately granted that Bronzeville had it coming. He recalled talking about a new field house for the neighborhood with Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle going back to when she was alderman of the 4th Ward, and the neighborhood lost a field house with the razing of the Wells-Madden housing projects just southwest of the current project.
The project was funded in what Johnson-Gabriel called "a lasagna," including $8 million from the Chicago Housing Authority, $4.3 million in Tax Increment Finance funds and $5.2 million in tax credits. Kelly said Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) were instrumental in putting the package together. The Park District provided the land and will oversee day-to-day operations. Ald. Will Burns (4th) has been touting job opportunities, both in construction and other positions.
Kelly said it was also key to expand the building's range of activities beyond a conventional field house.
"I can't ignore the fact that some children just don't gravitate toward sports. But maybe they've got a mind for music or the arts," Kelly added. "I've gotta get the kids in the facility, using the facility."
Although the Park District's motto remains, "children first," he said, the pool and fitness room should also attract adults up through seniors, which Kelly said the Park District encourages because seniors serve as "an added set of eyes" for the staff at all hours of the day and frequently police rowdy youngsters.
The hybrid use is typical of newer public-use buildings, Kelly said, as the Park District tries to "look into what the community wants and be nimble enough to change" to meet a given area's unique needs.
Johnson-Gabriel also pointed out it's "centrally located, so the greater Bronzeville community will have access to it."
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