Open House Chicago: A Dream Vision for the Kenwood Line

by Octavio Cuesta De la Rosa

One hundred years ago, Kenwood boasted its very own railway line, running from Indiana Avenue & 40th Street to 42nd Place & Oakenwald Avenue, but today, all that remains of the Old Kenwood Line are the concrete bunkers and monoliths that bisect the community. These segments have since become unique neighborhood fixtures, some embedded into city blocks and adorned with murals, others carving through residential areas. Otherwise, though, the remains of the Old Kenwood Line offer little to Kenwood’s residents.

Inspired by the City of Chicago’s INVEST South/West initiative, Illinois Institute of Technology graduate Migel Santos and the Chicago Architecture Center’s Open House Chicago presented “A New Vision for the Kenwood Line,” an unsanctioned project that envisions a massive rehabilitation of the Old Kenwood Line to bring socioeconomic equity and opportunity to a young, working class and predominantly African-American neighborhood. INVEST South/ West aims to coordinate public and private efforts to invest in marginalized communities of color on the South and West Sides. Under this framework, Santos worked as part of a larger group that sought to revitalize the community along the Old Kenwood Line by addressing key issues such as affordable housing, public greenspace and economic opportunity, with Santos focusing specifically on a corridor running from the I-94 Interstate to King Drive. The Indiana Green Line stop and the derelict bunker beneath its tracks serve as the focal point for his vision.

Santos and his team conducted extensive community outreach to identify key infrastructure needs. According to Santos, the community’s greatest issue is the lack of available commercial spaces, preventing local entrepreneurs from working and investing in their own community. Santos has aptly termed the lack of available commercial spaces as “barriers to entry” into the local economy. In addition to these “barriers to entry,” Santos also cited a worrying trend of bigbox stores and mom-and-pop shops alike leaving the area. His concept intends to address this issue by redeveloping the Indiana Green Line station with commercial spaces at and above track level, before gradually filling the corridor from I-94 to King Drive with further commercial developments.

Santos also identified a lack of accessible public space. His concept calls for the expansion of alleyways throughout the I-94–King Drive corridor to create broader footpaths adorned with greenery, allowing local residents to benefit from a safer and more walkable environment. In addition to the green alleyways, Santos also intends to make the greenery that has sprouted atop the concrete bunkers accessible to the public with a series of staircases and atriums that connect to the Indiana Green Line station’s track level.

Santos’ concept for the creation of more public space also has a cultural aspect. Citing the Museum of Contemporary Art’s long-standing need for a vault, Santos also proposes that the hollow interior of the concrete bunker beneath the Indiana station be rehabilitated to serve as an MCA vault open to the public. The MCA has not made a comment as this is still an unsanctioned project, but such a rehabilitation would effectively transform the station into a community cultural center while also meeting the MCA’s needs.

Another Santos idea for the lack of accessible public space is the development of privately-owned public spaces. These structures would flank the Indiana Green Line station, and while they would still provide public spaces for their community, their role as privately-owned structures would also provide some commercial spaces.

The architects of “A New Vision for the Kenwood Line” said that this ambitious project grounded itself heavily in feedback received through community outreach. Santos said this feedback directly influenced the kind of infrastructure envisioned both within and beyond the I- 94-King Drive corridor; his colleagues proposed parks and affordable housing further east along the Old Kenwood Line.

Nevertheless, despite the emphasis on socioeconomic equity, little time was devoted to mitigation of possible unwanted consequences, such as gentrification. The creation of a Community Benefits Agreement was only passingly mentioned. This lack of policy was largely attributed to the project being developed with the IN- VEST South/West initiative in mind. By

leaving public policy to the city, Santos and his team were able to focus exclusively on designing infrastructure.

Investment that tackles the inequities of the South and West sides is sorely needed and “A New Vision for the Kenwood Line” intends to provide equitable public and private investment. If this new vision becomes a reality, however, its architects cannot shirk from their duty. When the time comes, they must play an active role in developing the comprehensive policies that must be implemented to guarantee the socioeconomic equity and opportunity that was promised to Kenwood’s residents.

Octavio Cuesta De la Rosa is recent graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana/ Champaign, where he majored in history and minored in French and urban planning. He volunteers with the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps.