Four years after introducing plans for Woodlawn Central — a sprawling neighborhood campus dedicated to celebrating Black culture — developers will be breaking ground Saturday on the project’s first phase.
The Apostolic Church of God aims for the roughly 8-acre project to become an economic catalyst for the South Side neighborhood, centering residents, Black-owned businesses and cultural institutions. It comes on the heels of the Obama Presidential Center opening in nearby Jackson Park.
Phase one of the $580 million megadevelopment will have a 14-story, 104-unit apartment building and a hotel of the same height with 160 rooms, along with commercial and retail spaces and a pocket park. It’s also expected to create 100 temporary jobs and 700 permanent jobs, according to development plans.