The southwest corner of California Avenue and 47th Street in Brighton Park will soon look a lot different as the currently vacant lot is expected to see crews breaking ground on a modern medical facility designed by Chicago-based JGMA and spearheaded by architect Juan Gabriel Moreno. The 48,500-square-foot facility will be home to three nonprofit groups, including Esperanza Health Centers, Sinai Health System, and Mujeres Latinas en Accion.

Officially revealed last November at a Chicago Plan Commission meeting, the project is not the first project of its kind from Moreno and JGMA. The Colombian-born designer has a knack for non-traditional and modern construction in underserved communities.

He told Crain’s Chicago Business that the design is "not bashful, it's intentionally provocative. I want people to know that people in these communities matter, and I want the communities to know they deserve architecture of the highest caliber."

Rendering Courtesy of JGMA

The $27-million building is purposefully designed to inspire hope and dynamism, said Dan Fulwiler, CEO of Esperanza Health Centers. The exterior “bubbles” appear as if they are flowing across the facade, which is an intentional move to encourage movement and physical activity as a means to improve health. 

The building will feature a playground outside the pediatrics section, a meditation garden, and a large kitchen available for use by community groups. The meditation garden was a recommendation by community teenagers eager to deal with stress. 

The entire center will sit on three acres of an eight-acre block. Mansueto High School, a Noble charter school, will be on the other portion of the land and will be designed by Wheeler Kearns Architects.

If all goes as planned, the healthcare facility is slated to open in 2018.