Newest Wicker Park location boasts 12,000 square feet of light, fresh educational space
CHICAGO – Summit Design + Build, LLC, Chicago’s premier general contractor, recently completed the ground-up construction of the Michael R. Lutz Family Center for the Jewish Council for Youth Services (JCYS).
Located at 2129 W. North Ave. in the Wicker Park/Bucktown area, the center is one of four early childhood education centers owned and run by JCYS, joining the Michael R. Lutz Family Center in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood, the Northwest Family Center in Buffalo Grove and the George W. Lutz Family Center in Highland Park.
Summit Design + Build was retained to construct the new two-story, 12,000 square foot center after plans to rehab the sites old bow truss brick building proved inefficient. The new space, filled with natural light from large windows, also features seven classrooms, staff offices and an outdoor play area. Classrooms on the second floor, separated by movable partition walls, can be turned into a full floor event space. The 2,000 square foot playground, accessible on the second floor, used a specialty roof system called an upside down roof to allow for the installation of the rubberized play surface. The exterior façade was created using slate shingles and porcelain woodgrain tiles for a fresh, natural look. The project was completed roughly two months ahead of schedule.
“It was a pleasure to work with JCYS and help them create the space necessary to expand their services,” said Brian Sundermann, Senior Project Manager, Summit Design + Build, LLC. “We were aggressive with our construction timeline, but ultimately it was the strong client relationship that led to this project being completed well ahead of the 2016-2017 school year.”
Members of Summit Design + Build’s project management team celebrated the completion with JCYS at a ribbon cutting Sunday afternoon.
OKW Architects provided architectural services for the project.
Founded in 1907, JCYS provides early childhood education, recreation and leadership programs in a “second-home” environment for children of all ages. The Michael R. Lutz Center in Wicker Park plans to serve 300 families with services such as infant and toddler care, full and half day preschool, kindergarten enrichment, after school and vacation day programs and summer camps.
