Reimagine 1100 S Menard is a community-driven project led by the Island Civic Association, in collaboration with Austin Coming Together, Territory NFP and Human Scale. Together, we aimed to transform a vacant lot at 1100 S Menard into a vibrant, welcoming community space by collaborating with residents to design a proposal that reflects their needs, values, and culture.

Human Scale gathered feedback through 3 community meetings and created a schematic design and budget that will help secure funding for this project. Through this process, we garnered support from the community and are one step closer to bring this vision to life.

Create a vibrant community space that builds connection among neighbors and hosts local events, programs and resources.

Create a conceptual plan and budget that can help secure funding for the land acquisition and initial phase of the project.

The neighborhood is known as The Island because of its isolated location at the intersection of the 290 expressway, the Village of Oak Park, the Town of Cicero, and the Chicago neighborhood of Austin. The community is further isolated by its lack of amenities such as green areas and outdoor gathering spaces. Throughout the feedback sessions, we received over 90 responses from the local community. Through the responses, we learned about the identity of the neighborhood, local traditions, and activities they’d like to see in this space. From workshops, to play space and nature-filled areas comes a space built to promote community.