26th Street Corridor Plan

The 26th Street Corridor Plan seeks to drive economic development and support community organizations in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago.

Also known as “La Villita,” Little Village is the largest center of Mexican commerce and culture in the city. Anchored by 26th Street (the community’s main commercial corridor), the neighborhood is characterized by a dense urban fabric full of a diverse array of shops, offices and restaurants.

Over the course of nine months, HOK led a pro-bono team of architecture, urban planning, experience design, real estate, law and finance experts through community engagement and design charrettes to develop strategies to reinvigorate the public realm of 26th Street and help the community’s businesses thrive.

Working with local leaders and residents on a community-based needs assessment, the team prioritized guiding principles aimed at raising the visibility of 26th Street as a destination, enhancing the pedestrian environment, preserving the Mexican entrepreneurial culture for future generations and completing new development opportunities.

Strategies for achieving these goals include:

• Streetscape: Strengthening identity and experience through a better public realm.
• Placitas: Creating new social, cultural and economic spaces in the corridor.
• Parklets: Piloting a program to create pop-up social and community spaces along the length of the 26th Street corridor.

The 26th Street Corridor Plan is one of five commercial corridor projects now being supported by the Chicago Central Area Committee and World Business Chicago to aid the city’s diverse neighborhood economies and cultures.