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Former Doctors Hospital (Illinois Central Hospital) redevelopment: UC turns from a hotel project to a creating a new pre and primary Lab School campus This page is presented by Hyde Park-Kenwood Community Conference, its Development, Preservation and Zoning Committee, and its website hydepark.org. Join the Conference and its committees. Writer Gary Ossewaarde |
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To notice of public meeting February 11.
At the end of 2009, the University decided to use the site (presumably after teardown) for an early learning (through 2nd grade) division of the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. Since and object is room for further expansion, it is unlikely anything else will be put there, except maybe on a reserved strip at the south end. Notices to stakeholders and started and a public process was promised. Whether there will be objections is unknown. Decision seems to be based on concerns about enough space and site conditions (and future problems with student drop off) at Kenwood and 59th and 58th (Lillie and Wilder Houses and the soccer field, which it wanted to keep). The University may also have decided it might as well use the Doctors site (voted dry in 2008 by opponents of the hotel plan, for its own facilities. Growth of the Lab School is a top priority of the University, for the Lab School itself and one of the things it has to offer to entice faculty. Note that the hotel plan has moved to Harper Court and shrunk as a 150 room boutique, closer to what many think are true demand.
This page will now focus on the plans for the Lab School, their reception, and execution. Expectations re process.
From the Chicago Maroon, January 15, 2010. By Asher Klein
The University is exploring a plan to build an Early Childhood Center (ECC) for the Lab School on the ist of th Doctors Hospital, the center of 2008's controversial dry-vote campaign. If approved, the ECC would be designed exclusively for students through the second grade, University spokesman Steve Kloehn said Part of a major Lab School expansion underway since July 2007, the ECC would provide more space for the young students in a more open design teachers think is conducive to learning at early ages....
Kloehn emphasized that the plan for an ECC is neither fully developed nor settled within the University. Furthermore, the Hyde Park community has been and will continue to be involved in planning and approving whatever replaces the ECC, he said. "In the coming weeks, there will be some public meetings convened by the alderman and the University to lay out the possibilities on the Stony Island site," Kloehn said.
A smaller "group of people who can hear the ideas, react, and raise issues they think are important to the conversation" has already met with University officials, he said, but did not have specific information about the group.
Kloehn also said any final plan will have to apply for a permit to change the intended use of the site (a process involving local elected officials, public meetings and the city) wand would also have to pass inspection for demolition.
Lab School Director David W. Magill announced th plan to a parents' council on Monday, Kloehn said, although N-2 faculty were told in December and planning has been underway for a year. The Lab School hopes to increase its class size to a little more than 2,000 form 1,780. It has raised $30 million dollars for the initiative in to-and-a-half years.
In the February 7 Maroon, reporter Hannah Fine says there are divergent apprehensions about yet another proposal process for the Drs Hospital site. Any plan will require a zoning change and permit hence support of the alderman, who insists on community input. Jack Spicer told the Maroon the University would do better if it changed its communication strategy so the community "doesn't feel it's being hustled." Treat "the community as a partner, not the enemy. Somtimes teh phrase 'civic engagement' can hav a certain Orwellian quality when used by the University." He said he has not seen evidence of a positive change so far. On th other hand, Ald. Hairston said such fears are unfounded: "The approach of the University will be different this time. the wil actually talk with people in the community." Lauen Polite ofd the Lab School PTA sid the said the site selection isn't even fixed yet. The main reason for expansion, she said, is to open up the school to more diversity-- i.e. not just to UC faculty (implication that that is not really diverse?). Polite said there has been a lot of communication and process within the school and with parents.
From Hyde Park Herald, January 20, 2010. By Sam Cholke.
The University of Chicago Laboratory School is in the market for a new early childhood education center, and according to teh school's director, Doctors Hospital may be a good option. David Magill, the director of the Lab School, said on Jan. 13 that the Doctors Hospital site, 5800 S. Stony Island Ave., would provide several benefits over expanding o n campus. The new center would be home to the nursery through 2nd grade programs.
The site would alleviate some of the traffic congestion around the main campus, 1362 E. 59th St., and add outdoor play space for students, according to Magill. Students would lose some of the benefits of being so close to their older peers, however, he said.
The existing Doctors Hospital building is unsuitable for the programs the Lab School intends to move, and university architects advised razing the building and constructing a new center on the site, Magill said.
The Lab School is still early in the process of selecting a site for expansion and several locations are being considered, according to Steve Kloehn, a spokesman for the university. Maintaining the existing building is one option being considered, he said. Other options being considered include building a new facility facing 59th Street at Dorchester Avenue, according to Magill. the site would facilitate greater interaction between students of different ages and their parents, he said. Building on campus would mean sacrificing the Jackman Field soccer pitch or the adjoining tennis courts, he said.
The university will host a public meeting to discuss options for Lab School expansion in February. Magill said teachers and faculty have been supportive of building a new facility at teh Doctors Hospital site. "The reaction has been very, very positive," Magill said. "I've been pleasantly surprised that there has been almost uniform agreement that this could be terrific.:
...The Lab School began planning the expansion and renovation of it facilities in June, boosted by a $10 million gift from the Earl Shapiro family. The school plans to increase enrolment to 2,050 students from 1,780. Magill said the school would also hire new teachers and staff, expand the number of divisions and bolster a neglected arts program. The school will maintain the same student student-teacher ratio, Magill said.
There is "unprecedented demand" for a larger Lab School from community members and incoming faculty, Magill said. "Faculty are changing, and they are bringing younger kies," he said. The University of Chicago is expanding faculty ranks for teh first time in nearly a decade. University faculty and prospective faculty receive priority attention during the application process at the Lab School.
A 2007 report by the Wall Street Journal ranked Lab School as one of the top five high schools in the nation, with 19.3 percent of seniors going to top tier colleges, including Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Williams, Pomona, Swarthmore, the University of Chicago, and Johns Hopkins.
Maryal Stone Dale in a Herald letter dated February 3, 2010, said that a Lab School location at Drs Hospital will have to overcome some issues. Traffic, esp. at drop off and pickup (and temptation to kids to dash across Stony Island into the park incl. if kids are to be taken into the park.)
University of Chicago Laboratory Schools
Early Childhood Center
Community Meeting Announcement
Dear Community Member,The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools and 5th Ward Alderman Leslie Hairston invite community members to a public meeting on Thursday, February 11th to discuss advance planning for a possible expansion of the Lab Schools’ early childhood facilities.
The meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Laboratory Schools’ Large Group Room, 126 Judd Hall. Entry is through the double doors on South Kimbark Avenue, just north of East 59th Street.
As part of a proposed expansion now under consideration, Laboratory Schools administrators have identified the need for an early childhood center that would be dedicated to children from nursery school through second grade. Those children are currently spread among several buildings.
One option for locating a new early childhood center would be on University-owned land at 5800 S. Stony Island Ave. The meeting will offer an opportunity for members of the community to hear more about the early childhood program, possible design features and the sites under consideration, as well as to ask questions.