Logan Certified, our new adaptive reuse mixed use development, is nearing completion, and we have a stunning new commercial space packed with sustainable features, available for rent starting this May at 2857 West Diversey Avenue. This first floor Logan Square commercial space will be abundant with natural light from large storefront North-facing windows overlooking a bustling pedestrian, biking and vehicle traffic intersection. The open floor plan is completely customizable depending on our future tenant’s needs. Complete with an accessible restroom, utility sink, and 200A/1P electrical service, the 1,369 square foot space is a perfect studio/storefront/office for a maker, designer, retailer or coffee maker (cafe with Type II hood: okay, full scale restaurant with Type I hood: not okay). Ultimately, we are looking for a cool neighbor to welcome to our art and maker mini-community on Diversey Avenue.
CLOSE TO THE HEART OF LOGAN SQUARE
This Logan Square commercial space is perfect for business owners looking for high foot, transit and car traffic as it is minutes from the Logan Square Blue Line Station, seconds from the the Diversey bus and so close to the freeway one could walk there if they wanted to do such a thing. On busy Diversey Avenue, Logan Certified is neighbors to sensational restaurant Fat Rice, and Margarita haven Masa Azul. It also shares the stretch with award-winning bread baker Cellar Door Provisions. The community of business owners in Logan Square is tight-knit and supportive. Just take a peek at some of our interviews with business owners in the area: Bric-a-Brac records, Boulevard Bikes, The Dill Pickle Co-Op, Antique to Chic and muralist/artist Jason Brammer.
OPEN DESIGN: ENDLESS POSSIBILITIES
As designers and architects ourselves, we’ve created the space to be everything we wanted for our own creative and technical pursuits, which you’ll see reflected in every aesthetic, structural and sustainable feature. And of course, still being architects and designers, we understand that everyone’s vision has its own unique look and feel, which is why we’re keeping the floor plan open ended until we consult with whoever occupies the space so we can design it to fit their needs. Should any challenges arise, you can rest assured that the owner and architect are right next door with a screwdriver, stepladder or design solution ready to deploy.
New storefront at Diversey Avenue
SUSTAINABLE AND GREEN: PASSIVE COOLING, NATURAL LIGHT AND ENERGY SAVINGS
Our life’s work is to marry urban spaces with natural ones, and in each project we design, we prioritize environmental stewardship through reduced footprint, and emphasize contact with nature, whether by sunny windows, live edge tables made from sustainably harvested timber, or green plots with native plants. We don’t need a file stuffed with scientific studies to know that human beings thrive and work best in open, airy spaces with sunlight, comfortable temperatures and a little refuge from the urban landscape. To achieve this is in our mixed-use building, we planted a sizable courtyard in the middle of our building, allowing light and air to circulate throughout. Most importantly, the courtyard is a small bit of green space on a commercial stretch (which we’re quite fond of adding; see Intelligentsia Parklet). Perhaps the most sustainable feature of all is the adaptive reuse of the project. In its younger days the building housed a grocery store named Logan Certified. We have let some of its past show, while improving the structural system and infrastructure so the building will last another 100 years. Hopefully we can welcome another food/grocery centered use in the corner commercial space.
Shot in moss studio at neighboring space
View into moss studio with new storefront and overhead door
ARCHITECT AS DEVELOPER
As architects, we understand the entire building process, from site analysis to construction and usage, so it has been truly exciting for us to finally apply this knowledge to our very first development. We’ve put tons of thought and insight into our adaptive reuse property, which also includes a residential loft addition that we’re wrapping up as well. We’ve rolled with the punches when things didn’t go as planned, and we’ve made them even better. As the director of the entire project, and tenants ourselves (as mentioned, our new office space will share the floor), we were able to build and design this space to be an architect’s dream. We’re excited to participate in the continued revitalization of Diversey, and as residents in our new development as well as business owners, we’ll have more investment in our community than an absentee developer.