Students Design Englewood Business Accelerator

ARCH497 Urban Activator Englewood class instructor Monica Chadha and her students teamed up with architect Michael Newman to help with Englewood Business Innovation Center design. The class is part of the urban activators series that Monica has been teaching at CoA.

The business accelerator proposal developed by the greater Englewood Community Development Corporation will offer business owners a place to hold meetings, make phone calls, and conduct other business activities. The design team gave a presentation to business owners on February 12 at the greater Englewood CDC office. During the meeting, the students talked to the clients as part of the participatory design process to identify the needs for the accelerator.

The proposed business accelerator will be located at the annex building of U.S. Bank at 63rd and Halsted. While some proposal details are being developed, the business accelerator is set to open temporarily by mid-April in an unused, 1,600-square-foot space on the fourth floor of the main U.S. Bank building, located at 815 W 63rd.