“Rebuild Foundation, an arts and culture nonprofit founded by artist Theaster Gates, broke ground on a new arts incubator on the city’s South Side today.
“Rebuild has raised over $7.6 million from private investors and other organizations to begin the $10.35 million renovation of the former St. Laurence elementary school for the new 40,000-square-foot space. Rebuild bought the school in January 2016 after the site was slated for demolition.
“Those donating to the still-unnamed incubator include the city of Chicago, The Chicago Community Trust, Clayco Foundation, Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity, Kresge Foundation, Litowitz Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Mellon Foundation and Miami Foundation.
“We have invested $1 million into the repair and the remediation of the building,” said Sabina Bokhari, a representative with Rebuild Foundation. She said they’ve raised an additional $6.6 million for the renovation. “With it being an older building that has sat vacant for many years, there are structural challenges that we need to remediate to ensure that the space is safe.”
“The site will include artist studios, classrooms for creative entrepreneurship courses and co-working floors.
“We’ve toured the St. Laurence School, and it’s obviously an amazing space; it would been a real shame to see it demolished,” said Shawn Clark, president of real estate and development firm CRG, which donated $1 million to the arts incubator.
“The arts incubator is slated to be completed in 18 months, with programming to start as early as fall 2023.” (Jay, Crain’s Chicago Business, 5/3/22)
Read the full story at Crain’s Chicago Business
St. Laurence Under Demolition, Eric Allix Rogers, Chicago Patterns, 4/25/14