Work |
Bronzeville Lakefront
Rendering by SOM | Bronzeville Lakefront, Chicago, IL
Transforming Chicago’s South Side into a Regenerative Hub for Health, Innovation, and Community
Bronzeville Lakefront is a rare opportunity to restore not just land, but trust, dignity, and connection on Chicago’s South Side. Once home to the Michael Reese Medical Center, the 100-acre site holds generations of stories—of care, culture, and resilience. Now, with a team led by Farpoint Development and including McLennan Design, SOM, Hood Design Studio, and Chris Lee Architects, this land is being reimagined into a thriving, walkable community where equity and ecology guide every step forward in this regenerative urban lakefront redevelopment.
McLennan Design led the Living Community Challenge framework and regenerative visioning, helping shape a master plan that centers human health, community wealth, and environmental performance. Rather than impose a new identity, the team listened—to the land, the lake, and the legacy of Bronzeville’s role as the “Black Metropolis,” a national epicenter of African-American history, culture, and entrepreneurship.
The landscape itself tells that story. “The Three Ribbons”—woodland, wetland, and dune—run parallel to the lake, restoring native ecology while linking parks, plazas, and everyday spaces for joy. Historic Cottage Grove Avenue is redesigned to move with the rhythm of jazz, drawing a direct line from past to present. Civic spaces, social rooms, and neighborhood blocks are designed for connection—with markets, music, and movement built in.
This isn’t development for development’s sake. It’s a partnership with place. From resilient infrastructure to inclusive housing and a hub for healthcare innovation, Bronzeville Lakefront shows how cities can grow by healing what’s already there. A brownfield becomes a blueprint. A neighborhood’s legacy becomes its future. And a team of collaborators works hand-in-hand with community to shape a new chapter—rooted in respect, and built to last.
Farpoint Development
Masterplan, Sustainability Lead & Regenerative Design Strategist; guiding Living Community Challenge framework
Aiming for Living Community Challenge; buildings including ARC Innovation Center to be net zero and regenerative
Rendering by SOM | Bronzeville Lakefront, Chicago, IL
48 acres
Design completed in 2021; groundbreaking began 2023; build out through 2035+
Central Corn Belt Plains LIII, Chicago lake plain IV
Mixed-use masterplan: life sciences, residential, retail, civic, cultural, open space, innovation hub
Integrating equitable development, brownfield remediation, preserving cultural legacy, applying regenerative systems at scale
Voted “Most Anticipated Megaproject of 2022” by Urbanize Chicago
Rendering by SOM
Bronzeville Lakefront reimagines a storied site on Chicago’s South Side—the former Michael Reese Medical Center, a landmark of healing for over a century—as a vibrant, inclusive hub for healthcare innovation and regenerative urban lakefront redevelopment.
Spanning more than 100 acres along the lakefront, this development embraces the site’s legacy while envisioning a future rooted in community, equity, and environmental stewardship. Through thoughtful design and regenerative principles, Bronzeville Lakefront will nurture a new kind of urban experience—where innovation meets culture, nature, and connection—bringing life back to a place where history and progress walk hand in hand.
Rendering by SOM
At the heart of the Bronzeville Lakefront design is a reimagined street grid anchored by a central blue-green corridor—a recreational and pedestrian-focused street that serves as both natural infrastructure and vibrant public space. This spine weaves through the development blocks, managing stormwater, reducing heat, and restoring native ecology while offering a continuous, walkable link between parks, buildings, and community spaces. More than just a street, it’s a linear civic landscape that brings nature into the daily rhythm of city life—blurring the line between infrastructure and experience, and reconnecting people with the land, water, and one another in the heart of Bronzeville.
