North and Pulaski Historical Society

10/10/2026

Construction update on the Pioneer Arcade Senior Housing project, October 9, 2026.

The front facade has been cleaned and almost completely restored. There are some sections that still remain missing and have been stored away as old sections of the rusted out the steel skeleton frame are replaced.

The scaffolding has been taken down and you can see the interior of the old arcade and the staircase. You can also look into original arcade shops as well.

The the first two floors of the new building has been built to the south and behind the building.

10/10/2026

Nice try AI.

Looking west on North Avenue to Pulaski, Humboldt Park. (1927 vs Now)

10/10/2026

Hmmm, is this trying to speculate off the possible Crosstown Trail that would extend along Kenton Ave?

A zoning application has been filed for a proposed residential development at 1745 N. Cicero. Planned by 1749 NCA LLC, the project site is located near the intersection of N. Cicero Ave and W. Bloomingdale Ave. The property is currently occupied by an existing two-story building and surface lot used...

08/31/2026

3845 W. North Ave.

Community Development Committee approved up to $3.3 million in TIF for Chicago Community Justice Foundation's proposed nonprofit facility in the old Family Dollar and Sheridan-Peter Pan Studios building.

The $6.5 million project will renovate the long-vacant building for use by neighborhood agencies like New Life Centers and A.L.S.O. providing legal, mental health, violence prevention and educational services.

08/14/2026

Sad. We worked for two years on saving the bank and stewarding what the community wanted and needed in this redevelopment.

Park Row Development (Team Pioneros) were the wrong pick to lead the redevelopment.

They were chosen for a number of factors, for the Department of Planning, they Park Row/Team Pioneros came in with estimates about $20 million cheaper than the other bid, Hispanic Housing.

The other bid, from a trusted local non-profit developer had already received city and state funding for a numerous recent HP affordable housing projects, was pushing to get this bid and was pushing to redevelop the Pioneer Arcade all at the same time.

Some decision makers felt it was time for a new generation of developers to take this on. Some decision makers at the city level felt that this non-profit CEO was aggressive and had assumed it was a no brainer that they would get the bid.

Other factors included some decision makers feeling like putting a library front and center, inside the bank building, would gentrify the neighborhood.

Another factor is that the previous alderperson had known the father and family of one Park Row developers.

Additionally, there was a sense that some of the elements, such as the clinic (Primecare for the Hispanic Housing bid vs Humboldt Health for the Park Row bid), weren’t local.

Ultimately, there were nine decision makers who decided which on proposal got the bid. Six from the Department of Planning, Department of Finance, and the mayor’s (Lightfoot) office, and three from the community. All but one rated the Park Row developers over Hispanic Housing in their rubric, and so they got the bid without ever having developed anything in HP or in the city.

So, you get an empty, unmaintained and deteriorating building because a majority of decision makers who had no skin in the game or any connection to the North & Pulaski area, awarding a developer who had no connection to the neighborhood nor any development experience. We’re disappointed; actually heartbroken. Epic fail with no plan or vision of what to do next.

The planned redevelopment of the landmarked Humboldt Park building can’t move forward until the ownership team secures new financing, Ald. Jessie Fuentes said.

08/05/2026

Stowe Students Complete Painting Of Long-Lost Business On Decades-Old Canvas

“Tucked behind shelves at Stowe Elementary, the canvas had an outline of a historic Chicago clock manufacturer’s storefront. Students painted the rest and will see it hung in the auditorium when school resumes.”

Tucked behind shelves at Stowe Elementary, the canvas had an outline of a historic Chicago clock manufacturer’s storefront. Students painted the rest and will see it hung in the auditorium when school resumes.