Construction Update

As previously mentioned on our June 13^th update email, C40 Garfield Park officially began with mobilization by the Skender/Ashlaur team on June 12^th. Construction work began soon after and primarily involved preliminary excavation work and the installation of the building’s earth retention system (the system used to keep the building stabilized). During the excavation, the construction team uncovered an underground storage tank, concrete foundation walls and basement slab underneath the site. The storage tank was removed and the immediate soil was remediated on July 26th and the appropriate parties were notified of this finding. The walls and slab were able to be removed as well. The next stages of construction will focus on utility line relocation and siting of underground utilities and completion of excavation.

June Committee Meetings

Our Retail and Arts & Culture Committees reconvened for the first time since January of this year. Our Retail Committee discussed a high profile, community-focused retail vendor who POAH and several community members (shout out to Dr. Vinson and Talei Thompson), have had initial discussions with regarding placing a second location in the Fifth City Commons commercial space. We look forward to providing you with more information about this in the months to come.

Our Arts & Culture Committee reviewed the initial draft and provided feedback for POAH’s Arts RFP, which will be used to solicit interested artists for the painting of Fifth City Common’s five murals. By next week, we expect to send the final RFP to various local community arts organizations, galleries, non-profits, and artists. The committee will then help us with the selection process of a short list of interested candidates in the Fall.

Important Upcoming Dates

Thank you all for your patience and understanding as we worked to determine the final dates for the hiring fair and the project’s groundbreaking. We are pleased to announce these dates and information about these events below:

• The Community Construction Hiring Fair will be taking place on July 18^th at Shiloh Baptist Church (3162 W. Monroe St.) starting at 10 am. This event, organized by Tandem Ventures, Skender/Ashlaur and Alderman Ervin’s office, will allow for interested community residents to learn more about the construction hiring opportunities available on the project and to complete an application for one of these roles. Register for the event here!
• The Fifth City Commons Groundbreaking Ceremony will be held on July 26^th at 10:30 am. We will provide further information about the location and the event once we have that, but we are looking forward to celebrating the achievements of our collective team and most importantly you all, the residents of East Garfield Park, without whom this project would not be possible.