Construction Progress: McCrory Senior Apartments joins the community

Just west of Union Park at the SE intersection of Washington and Paulina, McCrory Senior Housing is taking shape amongst a myriad of neighbors.

Within the four blocks that meet at this corner, you can find historic mansions, contemporary 2- to 4-flats, apartments, condos, a learning center, and elementary school. McCrory’s community development partner, the First Baptist Congregational Church, sits next door.

Despite a limiting factor such as a small urban infill site, McCrory responds to the needs and social desires of the residents with varied interior and exterior community spaces.

The design team, composed of Catherine Baker, Tyler Brown, and Josh Mings, looked to surrounding context for cues on creating a building that would feel like it always belonged within a walkable and transit-oriented neighborhood.

Emulating residential bays typical in Chicago’s vernacular, the team shifted the massing and designed the façade to emphasize the building’s vertical proportion.  Decorative highlights, material choices, and other details pay respect to the historic architecture immediately surrounding McCrory and its significance to Chicago and the community.

An abstracted quatrefoil pattern engraved in sections of cast stone and a mural inspired by stained glass also reference the church’s historic features. Once complete, McCrory will offer seniors an affordable housing option that keeps them in the neighborhood as they age and gives them more freedom to live independently.