Hirsch MPG LLC- Architecture and Planning

06/15/2026

HMPG- Project of the Month- June 2026
Dr. Dennis Deer Community Justice Center

We have featured his project for the Lawndale Christian Legal Center (LCLC) in the past (most recently in May 2025, when we had interior photos taken). It is now fully operational and occupied. We see this as an opportunity to remind everyone how impactful a project can be on its community. The following exterior photos and write-up will help better explain this unique project.

The Lawndale Christian Legal Center (LCLC) is a community based legal nonprofit founded in 2010 to provide free legal services to the youth of North Lawndale, ages 25 years and under, walking them through and away from the criminal justice system, helping them to resolve disputes, take accountability for their actions, and repair harm to people and the community. They stand for fair and humane justice, looking for alternatives to putting kids in prison, and what can be done to break the cycle of recidivism. Studies show that 70%-80% of emerging adults released from prison are rearrested within three years. Poverty, limited life skills, unstable housing, and peer pressure make it increasingly difficult for this vulnerable group of young people to stay out of legal trouble.

The Dr. Dennis Deer Community Justice Center was founded with this goal in mind. In 2018, LCLC purchased a former Catholic school which had been sitting vacant for more than 20 years, using a mix of public and private funds. The existing 2-story plus basement, “L” shaped school, which was built in phases between 1904 and 1949, served the archdiocese well for many years, but at the time of the purchase, was in a dilapidated state.

The Dr. Dennis Deer Community Justice Center was designed to serve two distinct yet related roles. As a Community Justice Center, located in the renovated 18,000 sf former school, it provides 20- dormitory style studio apartments, a workforce development skills lab, a dining hall and commercial training kitchen, therapy rooms, laundry rooms, a fitness center and a sunken patio for barbeques and social events. The dorm-style apartments are fully furnished and include a bed, dining table and chairs, bathroom, and kitchen. As the residents work their way through the program, they are rewarded with larger rooms with more independent living features, as they learn the skills they need to move back into the community. As LCLC’s headquarters, located in a 14,000 sf addition, it provides office space for attorneys, administrators, street-outreach workers, case managers and circle keepers. It includes community rooms for other nonprofits and program partners, peace rooms for restorative justice healing circles, and mock courtrooms. The existing building and the addition were planned to create an exterior courtyard between them, providing a secure, private entrance to the facility, and an outdoor basketball court and gathering space for the residents to have a safe place to meet, socialize and play.

Client: Lawndale Christian Legal Center (LCLC)
Contractor: GMA Construction Group; Wight
Photographer: Patsy McEnroe Photography

05/23/2026

| Meet ALA Board of Directors member: Howard Hirsch AIA, ALA, LEED AP

Howard shares: "I like the idea of a smaller organization with a more personal feeling. Being a member offers timely and engaging educational offerings and supplier access for technical questions relating to my projects."

This is exactly what ALA strives to provide — a close-knit community with real professional value.

Interested in joining? Visit our website to learn more:
alatoday.org/membership%20info

Wishing all our members and followers a safe and relaxing Memorial Day weekend.

05/23/2026

Approvals for Cal-Melrose have been received. Looking forward to another successful project with Macon Construction Group and Stocking Urban.

05/21/2026

When projects are nearing completion, we like to gather the entire office for a site visit led by the Design Principal and Project Architect. It is a great way to learn what worked and what did not, and to see what the lines we draw on the computer (or paper) look like in reality. It's a great learning experience for architects and designers of all ages and experience levels. Yesterday, we all met out at Five Points Lakeview, a 52 Unit residential building with retail and live-work units on the first floor and a common roof deck. Thanks to Macon Construction and Stocking Urban for hosting us and allowing us to wander freely around the entire building. The building is currently 85% leased (5-units left for those who want to live at the Corner of Addison and Ravenswood). The site is truly Transit Served with the Addison Brown Line just steps away. Enjoy the photos of our field trip.

05/19/2026

HMPG Project of the Month- May 2026
Trulee- Trulee Evanston

Trulee Evanston is a 9-story, LEED silver, senior community that offers a continuum of care with 45 independent living, 83 assisted living, and 35 memory care living units. It was constructed through the pandemic shutdown with completion and first occupancy on September of 2021.

Programming and amenities focused on the relationship between interior and exterior spaces and establishing technology, culinary and local business partnerships to engage the building and its residents with the community in which it is located. Filling out a blighted, triangular parcel of land, the “L” shaped residential floors sit above a 2-story base that contains a lobby, parking, and the primary amenity spaces, setting back on the upper floors. The resultant spaces provide landscaped and secure outdoor spaces for living and alfresco dining. The exterior is a streamlined modern composition of stone, three colors of brick and large windows, designed to hold its own on the busy urban site and emit a feeling of permanence, strength, and hospitality, welcoming to the residents as well as the community.

Trulee was committed to a community focus that included workforce development, community engagement, and local hiring, working with the City of Evanston and community-based groups to address local hiring needs, participating in MBE/WBE city meetings, and working with the local government to help the city identify hiring challenges. Trulee contributed money to the affordable housing fund of Evanston, has two occupied affordable housing units on site, and has contributed to the Bike Share program DIVVY. Trulee worked to build a relationship with the adjacent Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church. At that time, the church’s services were on pause due to the global pandemic. A natural partnership resulted, as the GC was able to rent Mt. Zion’s adjacent house and lot during construction providing a necessary influx of revenue to the congregation during a time when donations were down. This relationship grew and capital improvements were provided to their site for their benefit. It was a win for everyone involved and a relationship that was driven by the concept of “helping your neighbor”.

Client: Condor Partners
Operator: Solera Senior Living
Interior Designer: IDA (Interior Design Associates)
Contractor: Valenti Builders
Photographer: Patsy McEnroe Photography

Awards:
2023- Illinois RE Journal Award - Senior Housing Category- Winner
2022- SHN Architecture & Design Awards-CCRC / LPC Lite category- Third Place
2022-Gold Nugget Awards- Best Service Enriched Senior Community IL/AL/MC- Finalist / Award of Merit

05/08/2026

Here is the latest on our California and Melrose development. We had a productive meeting with the community last week. Things are looking good…..

A revised plan for the vacant lot on California Avenue adds more townhomes and removes one of two five-story apartment buildings originally proposed.

04/27/2026

Our Uptown design in the news!

A foundation and superstructure permit issued by the city on April 24 allows construction to begin on The Clifton, a five-story, 40-unit residential development at 4725 North Clifton Avenue in Uptown.

04/20/2026

HMPG- Project of the Month- April 2026
The Lakeview Connection

The HMPG designed Lakeview Connection has recently been in the news (Crain's Chicago Business) with the announcement that Whole Foods, taking over from a planned Amazon Fresh, will be the tenant for the second floor grocery space. Lakeview Collection is a recently completed (2023) 2-story commercial building in the heart of the Lakeview neighborhood on the northside of Chicago. The property is located along the south side of Belmont Ave., between Clark and Halsted Streets. Whole Foods will be joining 5th 3rd Bank and VCA Animal Hospital as tenants, meaning the 60,000sf development is now 95% leased. “This lease reflects the strength of the neighborhood and our commitment to delivering high-quality, community-focused retail developments that meet the evolving needs of residents,” Hubbard Street Group Managing Partner Graham Palmer said in a statement.

The link for the Crain's article is below:

https://www.chicagobusiness.com/real-estate/commercial/ccb-new-whole-foods-lakeview-20260416/ #

Client: Hubbard Street Group
Contractor: Randolph
Consultants: Structural – TGRWA, MEP – Advance Consulting Group, Civil Engineering – Manhard Consulting, Landscape – Daniel Weinbach & Partners

Just the Facts:
Site Area: 36,653 sf (.84 acres)
Building Area: 59,255 FAR, 33,423 sf basement- New Construction
Height: 2-stories plus basement
Construction: concrete foundation, Mixed concrete and steel structure
Exterior Materials: Brick with glass and aluminum window system, phenolic accent panels
Parking: 88 Cars in Lower Level
Status: Completed – September 2023

03/23/2026

HMPG Project of the Month- March 2026-
The Hotel Julian (Now the Arlo Hotel)

This month we are featuring one of the most unique and challenging projects we have had the pleasure to work on. It is also one of the most recognized and awarded HMPG design. This post takes you behind the scenes to better understand the history and design process involved.

Originally designed by Marshall and Fox in 1911, this 12-story office building sat vacant and in major disrepair after a failed redevelopment attempt. The Hotel Julian redevelopment plan sought to save the existing building, restore the ornate terracotta façade, add five floors, and integrate new with old to create a 218 key boutique hotel.

To meet the program requirements and achieve enough keys to make this building’s small footprint work as a hotel, five-floors were added to the existing structure, clad in a faceted glass curtainwall which extends downward within the framework of the original clay-arch tile structure and terracotta façade. The chamfered form of the glazing was inspired by the building's rosette details and as a planning response to providing 4-hotel rooms within a three-bay facade. The two-story base, defined by three terracotta portals framing a folding glass wall, opens the restaurant (complete with mural of Benjamin Marshall) and lobby to Michigan Avenue, providing connectivity to the streetscape.

The Michigan Avenue wall is an iconic part of what makes Chicago such a special place. It is full of beautiful examples of historic architecture and terracotta buildings. The Hotel Julian project saved this iconic Benjamin Marshall building from the wrecking ball and transformed it into a unique addition to the Chicago skyline and Michigan Avenue streetscape.

Client: Oxford Capital Group LLC, Oxford Hotels and Resorts, Quadrum Global
Contractor: W.E.O’Neil
Interior Designers: Workshop ADP; The Getty Group

Awards:

2021- Association of Licensed Architects (ALA) Design Award- Silver
2020- AIA Chicago Distinguished Building Award
2020- Retrofit Magazine- Metamorphosis Awards - Whole building renovation- 2nd Place
2019- Chicago Building Congress- Best Renovation and Adaptive Reuse over $10 Million
2019- Excellence in Masonry Architectural Awards- Best of Contemporary Rehab / Restoration
2019- Friends of Downtown- Best Adaptive Reuse

Publications:

Retrofit Magazine- September / October 2020- “hashtag , hashtag , hashtag ”
Structure Magazine- February 2020- “Rising Above”
Chicago Tribune- October 11. 2018- Blair Kamen- “Small but Sexy…”

02/20/2026

HMPG Project of the Month- February 2026
The Brickyards, Deerfield, IL.

What to do with aging and vacant office buildings has been the subject of much debate, especially since the office slowdown brought on by the pandemic, not only in Chicago but in suburban communities as well. The Brickyards is the redevelopment of a 3-story office building at 155 Pfingsten Road in Deerfield, which has been sitting mostly vacant. Purchased by Baum Revision, The Brickyards converts the vacant office space into 112 one-bedroom and two-bedroom loft style apartments, maintaining the character of the existing building, reusing the building's primary systems where possible, and working within the structural limitations imposed by this former landfill site. The existing sea of asphalt parking is being replaced with a significant amount of landscaping to screen the parking to remain, tie the site better into the community, and provide amenity spaces for the residents. In addition, a parcel at the Pfingsten Road entrance is being sold to Primrose Schools for a one-story early education and daycare facility. We believe this is a good example of what can be done to keep aging office buildings and repurpose them into the housing so many communities need. The project is currently awaiting a building permit with full construction to start soon.

Client: Baum Revision
Tenant: Primrose Schools
Structural Engineer: C.E.Anderson
MEP-FP Engineer: The Engineering Studio
Civil Engineer: RTM Engineering Consultants
Landscape Architect: Daniel Weinbach Partners