Archinect - News

JGMA-led Team Pioneros selected to redevelop historic Pioneer Bank Building in Chicago's Humboldt Park

2022-01-12T12:22:00-05:00

The City of Chicago has selected Team Pioneros, a one hundred percent Latino project team, led by Chicago-based practice JGMA, Park Row Development with All Construction Group, to redevelop the historic Pioneer Bank Building in Humboldt Park. The $53.9 million project will restore the vacant landmark structure and parking lot, establishing affordable housing, an entrepreneurial incubator space, a Latino cultural center, and office space. It will also host JGMA’s new office headquarters.

The announcement of the redevelopment was made by Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot during the celebration of the two-year anniversary of INVEST South/West, the mayor’s revitalization strategy for ten historically disadvantaged South and West Side communities in Chicago.

JGMA envisions the new building as a continuation of the existing bank building while serving as a symbol for the future of the neighborhood. This is initially apparent through its multi-colored façade, which can be experienced from all...

National Museum of the American Latino heading to National Mall in Washington, D.C.

2020-07-27T17:10:00-04:00

The United States House of Representatives has passed the National Museum of the American Latino Act, a bill that paves the way for the creation of a new Smithsonian Institute-affiliated museum celebrating the histories and achievements of Latinos in the United States.

The bill's text explains the "legacy of Latinos is deeply rooted in the very fabric of the history, democracy, freedom, and economic opportunity of the United States," and that despite this fact, "there exists no national museum within the Smithsonian Institution that is devoted to the documentation and explication of Latino life, art, history, and culture."

Previously on Archinect: "National museum dedicated to women's history takes a step forward." The Smithsonian Building in Washington D.C. Image courtesy of Wikimedia user Noclip.

The bill lays the groundwork for the creation of a new museum that "will be the keystone for people in the United States and other Smithsonian Institution visitors to learn about Latino ...

First designs unveiled for Chicago Latino Cultural Center's new HQ

2015-04-30T17:12:00-04:00

Architect Juan Gabriel Moreno is teaming up with Chicago's International Latino Cultural Center to build a new downtown headquarters in the form of a wild-looking $50 million complex. Announced during the most recent edition of Chicago Latino Film Festival that took place this month, the organization announced its ambitious new "Ibero-American Tower" which would house a number of components [...].

With gentrification, the end of racial segregation moves into LA's Highland Park neighborhood

2015-03-23T14:16:00-04:00

For years, our family journeys have taken us from our hillside home, in the multiethnic Mount Washington district of northeast Los Angeles, into the flatlands of the Latino barrios that surround it. My wife, Virginia Espino, who is Mexican-American, knows these neighborhoods well, especially the community called Highland Park. [...] “I saw them all move out,” my wife said one day, referring to the neighborhood’s white residents. “And now I’m watching them move back in.”

Activists “Evict” Businesses in Gentrifying L.A. Neighborhood

2014-12-10T13:22:00-05:00

On November 8th, a group called the North East L.A. Alliance (NELA Alliance) held a public art performance titled “Procesion de Testimonios: Evicting Displacement,” which sought to bring attention to changes in Highland Park. The procession began along the most visibly gentrifying corridor, York Boulevard, and the group served mock eviction notices to businesses the group didn’t feel were “culturally inviting, affordable and displaced long-time businesses,” according to organizer Melissa Uribe.