Roseland's High Prairie — SEEK Design + Architecture

Roseland’s
High Prairie

Location: Roseland, Chicago, Illinois
Year: 2023
Size: 110,000 sq ft
Status: Concept
Category: Commercial, Multi-Family Residential, Single-Family Residential
Services: Architecture, Master Planning, Interiors

Roseland’s High Prairie will be located at 112th and Michigan Avenue in Chicago’s Roseland community, with a deeply rooted history with the South side of the city. As the gateway site to ‘The Ave’, the former Gately’s Peoples Store was a community institution that provided nearly all services that a family could need and attracted people from across the south side of Chicago. The two-story building, along with the iconic store sign, defined this stretch of a once vibrant social and commercial district. With the opportunity to redefine this corner, creating a new community amenity was the first priority. This is achieved by creating a centrally located public park and green space as the ‘heartbeat’ of the project. The second priority is to respond to the former building form that creates the pedestrian experience and the historic presence of the site.

The design concept was influenced directly by the history of the site. The continuation of the two-level Gately’s People Store volume brings back the urban edge and the historical presence of the site. The rhythm of the storefronts along the Ave informs the facade design by expressing the various buildings along Michigan Ave as a rhythmic sequence of projecting balconies. The revival of the Gatelys Peoples Store site is an essential catalyst for the Roseland community. By drawing inspiration from Roseland’s rich history, we envision a future development that brings people together as a residential and community gathering destination.

The multi-family residential building fills the street edge of the prominent corner of Michigan and 112th. The new brick building podium evokes the historical presence of the former Gately’s Peoples Store, featuring ground-level commercial storefronts accessible to both Michigan Ave and High Prairie Park with opportunities for outdoor gathering spaces. 48 affordable housing units rise out from this podium in a cascading facade of balconies and picture windows, bringing the vibrant tapestry of lifestyle back to the Ave.

At the Edbrooke side, 14 single-family homes for approachable home ownership and 12 townhomes are arrayed across the site. By orienting the ends of houses facing each other across the length of the site, each home has private front yards and attached rear garages accessible by shared communal landscapes and driveways. These efficient pre-fabricated modular houses feature efficient building footprints that allow for greater housing density while maintaining generous private outdoor space. The communal prairie landscape linking the front yards of the single-family houses connects to High Prairie Park.

Michigan Avenue Aerial