Chicago Construction News staff writer
The University of Chicago and City Colleges of Chicago, have unveiled a joint project to rejuvenate underutilized land on Garfield Boulevard.
“There’s an abundance of talent here in this community, and we want to make sure we meet that talent where they are,” City Colleges chancellor Juan Salgado said at a press conference Tuesday. “These are connected projects that will provide a clear pathway to good paying, upwardly mobile jobs for South Siders.”
UChicago Medicine plans to build a new facility that consolidates its existing clinical labs, modernizes their operations, and maximizes lab test efficiency to ensure best-in-class care. The facility would bring 550 jobs — including approximately 200 new positions — to Washington Park, provide clinical rotations for students, and help the hospital add critical lab capacity to meet the expanded diagnostic needs of a new cancer pavilion, expected to open in 2027.
The new site builds on investments UChicago has made over the past decade to revitalize several vacant spaces along East Garfield Boulevard, bring fresh vibrancy to the Washington Park neighborhood, and promote growth at a critical transit point.
On adjacent land owned by the Chicago Transit Authority and immediately east of the Garfield Green Line station, City Colleges will construct a neighboring Malcolm X College learning center with classrooms, dry labs, offices and street-level retail.
The buildings incorporating new ground-floor retail spaces.
“We at the university and our nearby neighbors know well there is an incredible well of possibility at hand. In advancing this project, I think we will help to counter some population loss and incredible disinvestment and some of the land vacancy that has really faced Washington Park,” said UChicago President Paul Alivisatos.
