PRC approves South Side Community Arts Center expansion

The Permit Review Committee has approved plans for the expansion and renovation of the South Side Community Arts Center. Located at 3831 S. Michigan, the project will combine the existing midblock site with the two lots to the north of the existing property to create a larger property for the project. 

Designed by Future Firm, the project will renovate the landmarked home and build a three-story addition on the back of the property connected to the house. On the exterior, the landmarked home will get a new cornice and windows as well as masonry and roof repairs. The interior landmarked spaces will be retained in the house. A coach house at the back of the site will be demolished.

As part of the reconfiguration, the home and addition will get new galleries, meeting rooms, archive space, support, and other spaces. Historic information indicates that the wooden planks of the Burroughs Gallery used to be much lighter, so the team plans to remove the stain through a chemical process to bring it back to its original state. While the wooden planks are removed, additional insulation will be added into the walls to improve the thermal performance of the building envelope. Other non-original finishes including tile and paint will be removed to restore the original condition of interior spaces.

To connect the new addition to the historic home, a small kitchen wing will be demolished. The addition itself is at the back of the site so that the main building can remain in the foreground. The portion north of the home will be a two-story structure clad in rainscreen paneling with an accessible approach made of light-colored concrete. The addition will step up to three stories behind the house and be clad in glass curtain wall. The small portion just south of the home will have the rainscreen paneling on the first two floors and glass curtain wall on the third floor. 

Due to a deadline to spend one of the organization’s funding grants, the team plans to use an early design package to allocate those funds before starting full construction in April 2025. The center is expected to be completed by Summer 2026.