The new Chicago Park District headquarters is under construction

On Saturday I took advantage of the first warm sunny day in several weeks to photograph from my hot air balloon the Chicago Park District’s new headquarters that’s under construction in Brighton Park. The building will anchor a new park next to the Western Orange Line station. The circular building is designed by John Ronan Architects and will contain both offices for park district staff and a fieldhouse for Chicagoans to work out, play games, and attend classes.

The current headquarters is downtown, at 541 N Fairbanks Ct in Streeterville.

Aerial view looking west showing the building and CTA station.

The office and fieldhouse building overlooks the CTA’s Western Orange Line ‘L’ and bus station (Western Avenue and South California buses stop here).

Aerial view looking southwest at the building portion that faces Western Avenue.

Site plan

Despite being adjacent to an Orange Line station and multiple bus routes, the site plan from June 2020 (above) does not show a traffic signal for people to more safely cross Western Avenue. Instead it depicts an “enhanced” crosswalk.

Aerial view looking south along Western Avenue towards the Orange Line station, showing how close the station and future headquarters will be.

Aerial view looking west-southwest at the future turf fields and existing middle school.

What looked to me like the preparation for a large parking lot is the foundation of two turf fields, between the future lawn and the existing James Shields Middle School.

A rendering shows a view from the north overlooking the meadow; the playground is to the west.

According to the plans approved by the Chicago Plan Commission, the building will be surrounded on the east and west sides by a meadow and lawn, respectively. The houses across 48th Street will face trees that will dot the north edge of the property.

View more renderings