In December 2009, at the depths of the Great Recession, we acquired a 13,000-square-foot parcel of land directly adjacent to the Montrose CTA station from the Chicago Transit Authority. While others saw only uncertainty, we saw long-term potential in this transit-adjacent site in the heart of Ravenswood.
Our plan was to hold the land until the economy recovered, then develop when the time was right. But rather than let the site sit vacant and fenced off, we asked ourselves: how could we activate this space for community benefit in the meantime?
The answer became Montrose Green—a 150-bed organic community garden that operated for two years. We partnered with three nonprofit organizations to create garden plots available to neighborhood residents, local businesses, craft breweries, and restaurants. Twenty percent of all produce was donated to Common Pantry, Chicago's oldest continuously operating food pantry.
The site also hosted a neighborhood holiday festival and served as the location for Christmas tree sales and recycling programs that benefited local schools and community organizations. What could have been a blighted vacant lot became a gathering place and productive green space for our neighbors.
As the economy improved and the City of Chicago enacted a Transit-Oriented Development Ordinance to promote higher-density development near train stations, we moved forward with development plans. We worked with a local developer partner to design and build a 38-unit apartment building with retail space, securing Culver's as an anchor tenant.
Today, The Henry serves the neighborhood with housing and retail adjacent to public transit. The top floor is home to HarringtonBrown's office, complete with a rooftop deck overlooking the neighborhood we've called home for years.
