Hirsch MPG LLC- Architecture and Planning

09/16/2026

HMPG Project of the Month- September 2026-
167-169 N. Morgan, Chicago

One of our newest projects is the redevelopment of 167–169 N. Morgan Street in the Fulton–Randolph Market Historic District. The building’s history and redevelopment process make for a compelling story.

Built between 1916 and 1928 for the Rubenstein Lumber Company, the structure appears from the street to be a typical three-story masonry building. Inside, however, it is essentially a lumber shed: a series of wood platforms designed to hold pallets of lumber. A large overhead door opens to a three-story central spine, occasionally crossed by bridges, providing access to the stored material. Columns supporting the platforms were placed irregularly at roughly 10 feet on center, making the interior impractical to reuse or convert. As a result, the building remained vacant for years despite its prime Fulton Market location.

The historic Morgan Street façade consists of three wythes of brick capped by limestone coping. A detailed assessment found extensive cracked and displaced brick, washed-out mortar, and generally poor conditions. In addition, the site is landlocked on three sides, with no alley or rear access and only 50 feet of frontage on Morgan Street. Based on these findings, the design calls for carefully dismantling the Morgan Street façade and storing its brick and limestone off-site. This approach opens the site for construction of a five-story, 20-unit residential building with ground-floor retail.

The historic façade will be reconstructed as part of the building’s first three floors. The top two floors will be set back six feet and clad in black vertical standing-seam metal panels. Each “L” shaped floor will provide five dwelling units with 20% affordable. The first floor will contain retail and building services.

In August, the Commission on Chicago Landmarks approved the façade’s demolition and reconstruction, subject to later approval of the final design. The Permit Review Committee granted that approval last week, and rezoning is expected to be completed before the end of the month. September has been a productive month for 167-169 N. Morgan.

Developer: HSG Morgan Street LLC (Hubbard Street Group)
Architect: HirschMPG LLC
Historic Consultant: BLT Architects, Inc.
Structural Consultant: CEA&A Structural Engineers

09/01/2026

This is a nice video from WGN about the Dr. Dennis Deer Community Justice Center in North Lawndale which we designed for LCLC. We worked on this project for many years and it is gratifying to see the impact this small facility is having on so many lives.

Named after the late Cook County commissioner Dennis Deer, Lawndale Christian Legal Center’s new hub, the Dr. Dennis Deer Community Justice Center, opened in April 2025.

08/24/2026

Another permit issued.

A full building permit has been issued for a mixed-use development located at 4640 N. Western. Planned by Macon Construction, the project site spans along N. Western Ave from the CTA Western Brown Line tracks down to W. Eastwood Ave where the project’s address listed in permits is 2406 W. Eastwood...

08/24/2026

Our 4725 N. Clifton- Uptown Design- In the News

A full building permit has been issued for a mixed-use development at 4725 N. Clifton. Located within the Uptown Square Historic District, the project site is located at the intersection of N. Broadway and N. Clifton Ave. Planned by CEDARst Companies, the property is a long surface parking lot that....

08/13/2026

HMPG Project of the Month- August 2026
1539 N. MILWAUKEE AVENUE- ABERCROMBIE AND FITCH
CHICAGO, IL

Sometimes small projects tell fascinating stories, especially when they involve older buildings with distinctive histories. The unassuming one-story building at 1539 N. Milwaukee Avenue, in the Wicker Park Historic District, is one such example. Built in 1912 as the Home Theater—more precisely, the Home 5-Cent Theater—it was an early example of Chicago’s shift from private storefront nickelodeons to dedicated neighborhood movie houses designed specifically for film screenings. A Chicago Tribune article from Dec. 13, 1912, reported that 635 theaters of all sizes and types were operating in the city. Many stood along Milwaukee Avenue, but few survive today, making this building a rare link to Chicago’s century-old cinematic past. Designed in the Classical Revival style by architect David Saul Klefter for the Gumbiner Brothers, the theater became known for a partial roof collapse during construction. Newspapers at the time described the incident as “perilous” and a “deadly disaster,” though no deaths were reported. Klefter faced a lawsuit and public hearings over inspections and design, but he was eventually cleared of wrongdoing. The theater was renamed the Bell Theater in 1914, the Wicker Park Theater after a 1921 fire, and the Wicker Theater in 1954. It closed permanently in 1955.

As Wicker Park continued to evolve, the building was adapted for commercial and retail use, serving a range of soft-goods tenants. The most recent was John Fluevog Shoes, which opened in 1999 and painted the building deep blue. Centrum Realty and Development, the current owner, sought a tenant suited to the building’s character and the neighborhood, and Abercrombie and Fitch proved to be an ideal fit. To meet its retail needs, however, the building required substantial modifications. When the theater was first converted for retail use in the late 1950s, the sloped auditorium floor was leveled with wood construction, creating a partial basement and crawlspace below. Over time, that structure settled, deteriorated, and was no longer level. The entire wood floor structure and sloped floor beneath it were removed, the area was filled with gravel, and a new concrete slab was poured. The roof over the front section of the building—the former lobby—was also wood-framed, deteriorated, and required reframing. Historical research revealed that the parapet had been rebuilt at some point lower than its original design. As part of the exterior renovation, it was reconstructed to more closely reflect the building’s historic appearance, and new custom windows and storefront were installed. Unfortunately, after years of painting, the existing stone and brick façade could not be stripped and restored, so it was repaired, tuckpointed, and repainted in a more historically appropriate manner.

After the core and shell renovation was complete, Abercrombie and Fitch finalized its interior design and merchandising, highlighting several of the building’s distinctive features. The design exposes the long-span, column-free space of the former theater auditorium and takes advantage of the large central windows and arched window details at each end. The store opened in December 2024, exactly 112 years after the original Home Theater debuted. We are especially drawn to adaptive reuse projects like this, no matter their size, because they help keep the histories of both the building and the neighborhood alive.

Client: Centrum Realty and Development, LLC
Contractor: Price Construction Inc.
Structural Engineer: TGRWA
MEP-FP Engineer: ACGI Int’l.
Civil Engineer: Eriksson Engineering Associates
Photographer: Patsy McEnroe Photography

Just the Facts:
Site Area: 6,018 sf
Building Area: 4,884 sf net
Height: 1-story
Construction: Masonry, steel, wood
Exterior Materials: Brick and stone; glass and aluminum window system
Mechanical Systems: RTU
Status: Completed – December 2024

07/15/2026

HMPG Project of the Month- July 2026
The St. James

This month we are featuring a small residential building on a very unique and challenging site. We recently had the exterior of the building photographed so this is a preview of the project before it is added to our website. We hope you like it.

The St. James is a five-story, four-unit condominium located on a long narrow site (33.33’ x 146’) in the Lincoln Park Neighborhood. Sandwiched between an older 13-story apartment building and a significant planned development containing underground parking, a high-rise, large single-family homes, an existing church and a shared park, the site was the lone remaining vacant parcel on the street. Initially thought to be undevelopable because the site does not have an alley and minimal frontage, creative planning allowed the building to move forward. Because there was no alley, all access (cars, move-ins, visitors, package delivery and residents) and exiting needed to be from the 33.33 feet of frontage along St. James. During the initial design phase, numerous options were considered including an 11-story steel building with duplexed units. In the end, due to the site constraints which limited the ability to bring in a crane, a five-story option with one 4,000 sf unit per floor was determined to be the best solution. The building was designed using masonry bearing walls and wood joist construction. Each unit was provided with 10’ or higher ceilings, an expansive number of windows and large inset balconies off the living room and primary bedroom. The top floor unit was also provided with access to a landscaped roof deck. To make this program work on this narrow sight, the core was located along the west, abutting the existing 13-story building and special approvals were requested from the city to allow the building footprint to utilize the entire site, taking advantage of beautiful park-like views to the east. The masonry façade of the building is a series of monumental, punched openings with a repeating pattern of square grids. The inset balconies break up the 140’ length of the east façade. Completed in 2025, the 4-bedroom unit designs that also provided private exterior living spaces, and the unique scale and location of the building, proved to be popular and all four condominium units sold quickly.

Client: St. James Interests, LLC
Contractor: G-Corp
Interior Designer (for Unit Owner) : Elizabeth Kruger Design
Photographer: Patsy McEnroe Photography

Just the Facts:
Site Area: 4866 sf (33.33’ x 146’)
Building Area: 21,322 sf
Units: 4- Residential
Height: 5-stories
Construction: Masonry, steel, wood
Exterior Materials: Brick and stone; glass and aluminum window system
Mechanical Systems: Split system per floor
Parking: 8 Cars
Status: Completed – July 2025

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.