WEST RIDGE — A coalition of West Ridge community groups is seeking feedback from the neighborhood on what it would like to see at the new library/senior housing building to be built at Western and Pratt Avenues.
LEARN West Rogers Park — a group of local organizations that includes Devon Bank, Friends of Northtown Library, Indo-American Center, Jewish Community Council of West Rogers Park and the Rogers Park/West Ridge Historical Society — are circulating an online survey for residents and other groups to gauge interest in the structure's design, the library's programming, hours, parking and more.
In recent years, the group has campaigned for a new library in the neighborhood.
That goal is becoming a reality with one of the nation's first public housing/library mash-ups, a partnership between the Chicago Housing Authority and Chicago Public Library.
The Western Avenue branch is one of three new mixed-use libraries and housing facilities slated to open across the city, including others on Taylor Street and Elston Avenue.
The building is slated for completion in 2019, and the architecture firm that will bring the 50th Ward community's vision to life should be announced by the city soon. The finalists are Perkins Eastman, Wheeler Kearns Architects and Perkins and Will.
