Farr Associates

Come One! Come All! ‼️👀📢

Join us to meet the development team, receive updates on the future of the Hotel Florence, and share your ideas for this historic community landmark! Your input will help shape the future vision!

9th Ward Community Meeting Details 🗓️
Thursday, June 11, 2026, 6–7:30pm

Meeting Location📍
Pullman Community Center
10355 S Woodlawn Ave
Chicago, IL 60628

For more information, contact the 9th Ward Alderman Anthony Beale Service Office:
call 773-785-1100 or email [email protected]

RSVP for event reminders ✅ https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hotel-florence-community-meeting-tickets-1990814894942

Image Sources 📚
Hotel Florence with rocking chairs on the veranda, Pullman State Historic Site, Illinois Digital Archives, http://www.idaillinois.org/digital/collection/pshs/id/15984. (Photographer unknown)

Historic Pullman District Button, Pullman State Historic Site, Illinois Digital Archives, http://www.idaillinois.org/digital/collection/pshs/id/22051. (Featuring drawing of the Hotel Florence by Ken Pryor)

Join us at Delta Institute's Spring Convening on Thursday, May 28 alongside McKay Landscape Architects, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and public partners to explore real solutions that address flooding, safety, and investment along the South Shore lakefront.

A comprehensive community planning process is essential to ensuring a resilient and healthy future for South Shore! Neighbors and community members are invited to this public meeting to:

📣 Hear updates from public agencies and local organizations on shoreline initiatives

🌿 Explore and respond to proposed green infrastructure and resilience designs

🎯 Learn how proposed solutions address flooding, safety, affordability, and economic development

🗯️ Share your input through interactive activities

🌱 Shape and decide which projects move forward

Community-led Shoreline Resiliency Planning
Thursday, May 28, 2026, 6–8pm
St. Luke Missionary Baptist Church
7262 S Coles Ave
Chicago, IL 60649
To register, visit https://bit.ly/3tMxEkw or scan the QR

*Access Notes:
Entrance to St. Lukes at 73rd Street is wheelchair accessible. Access to the restrooms will require one flight of stairs.

It’s permit szn, y’all! 💝 Permits have been issued and we’re proud to continue to support through restroom renovation projects at Stevenson Elementary and George Washington Elementary.

Pictured here is firm president Mercedes documenting existing conditions at Washington Elementary featuring an important affirmation that reads “you are capable of more than you know” 🎈

Buckle up for the 34th annual Congress for the New Urbanism! 🤠 Doug and Mercedes will be in the Ozarks for the multi-locational convening — say howdy and if you're attending be sure to catch Doug in these sessions:

5/13📍Fayetteville
"Accelerating Climate Action at Regional Scale" with co-panelists Carl Elefante, Stephen Luoni & Jeffrey E. Huber 🌳

5/14📍Bentonville
"Building the Practice with Practice" with co-panelists Dhiru Thadani, Juniper Rose Hentz & Matt Lewis 🌿

5/14📍Bentonville
"The Climate Action Handbook for Urbanists: Engaging the Movement" book release and talk with CNU organizers and co-authors of the new publication 🌱

Various North Arrows ⬆️ from our borrowed collection of drawing sets!

Images:

1: North arrow drawn by Keck & Keck, 1947

2: North arrow drawn by Keck & Keck, 1950

3: North arrow drawn by Keck & Keck, 1984

4: North arrow drawn by m.j. root & associates, 1988

5: North arrow drawn by Chicago Associates Planners & Architects, 2001

6: Len pointing and analyzing a structural drawing set, 2026

7: Len & Moid discussing the new high-performance roof while looking and pointing to a studio monitor, 2026

8: Original Keck & Keck color pencil sketch of the exterior of Hyde Park Neighborhood Club, undated

Celebrating the Last Days of Deco Month! ⚜️ Many thanks to and for this profile of the beloved Lawson House, Jewel of the Gold Coast, in Preservation Magazine 💜

Images:

1: Scan of the cover of Preservation Magazine featuring a woman standing on the front stoop of a residential building framed by a lilac tree.

2: Scan of magazine spread featuring Lawson House article by Wanda Lau and color photo of the chapel by . Also included is a multi-image composition with aerial view of the art deco building, a residential apartment unit, and laundry room. Aerial courtesy of

3: Historic black and white photo of the gymnasium paired with video of the current gym and resident shooting hoops and cameos by .e.miley and .

4: Historic black and white photo of swimmers in the pool paired with color photo of ribbon cutting ceremony with . The audience is seated in the area where the pool has been infilled (a process that can be reversed in the future!).

5: Historic black and white photo of the barber shop paired with color photo of the updated space that now serves as laundry facility for residents. Laundry photo by

6: Pull quote that reads “To preserve the building’s original use and not gentrify it… the vision was remarkable.” Quote by Sharon C. Park, Preservation Architect & Associate Director Emerita at the Smithsonian Institute

Pullman Reading List in honor of National Library Week! 📚💜 We are so lucky to be neighbors with the Harold Washington Library Center. Thank you for all you provide—books, things, community resources, respite, and so much more! 🥰

👀🏩 The work to restore the historic Hotel Florence & Annex is underway! Members of the team recently convened at Skender HQ to map the project’s timeline. 🗓️ It’s a tight one—we’re aiming to “break ground” next spring!

💌 Join our Pullman mailing list: https://www.farrside.com/pullman-hotel-florence

🌟Team Pullman🌟
— Celadon Construction Corporation NFP: Developer
— Farr Associates: Architect of Record
— Ramsey Historic Consultants: Historic Preservation Consultant
— Skender: General Contractor
— Art of Culture, Inc.: Curatorial Programming
— site design group, ltd.: Landscape Architect
— Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, Inc.: Structural Engineer & Envelope/Façade
— TERRA Engineering, Ltd.: Civil Engineer
— DBHMS: MEP Engineer & IT
— Threshold Acoustics LLC: Acoustics
— Schuler Shook: Theater Planner & Lighting Design
— Illinois Department of Natural Resources

Lines & Shapes & Textures 〰️ Field notes from this morning’s visit to our historic single-family restoration project in Kenwood! 🌥️

Fun Fact: Built in 1888, the residence was designed by Pullman architect Solon S. Beman. 🧱👀

What does a career in design look like?? The youth have questions!🌟And we’re delighted to support in nurturing the next generation of design leaders at their Teen Career Fair this weekend! 💚

We’ll have goodies to share from PLUS Mercedes will join folks from , , in a design career discussion to share their varied paths and chat with the teens! 💜