$126M Bronzeville Campus Pitched as State Street Reboot

The future home of the Chicago Hip Hop Heritage Museum could anchor a $126 million mixed-use campus aimed at jumpstarting a long-struggling stretch of State Street in Bronzeville.

Dubbed the Technology Renewable Energy Command Center Global Campus for Youth & Families, the project is proposed for the former McCorkle Elementary School site at 4417 South State Street. Block Club Chicago reported that the sprawling plan would combine the museum with a mutual aid community center, sports and tech hub, workforce development center and a proposed 111-room hotel.

Brian Gorman, president of the center’s board and a co-founder of the museum, told the outlet that the team secured $89 million in private funding so far. The remaining gap would be filled through a mix of loans, tax increment financing and community development grants. Applications have been filed with the city’s zoning and planning departments.

The museum closed in December after its landlord sold the Grand Boulevard greystone that housed it for nearly five years. Leaders have pledged to keep the institution rooted in Bronzeville, according to the outlet, hosting pop-ups and collaborations citywide while a permanent home is pursued.

Phase one of the campus would include construction of the museum, hotel, workforce and community centers, along with basketball and volleyball courts. DeJuan Kea, who serves on both boards, said the team is in talks with Hilton to flag the hotel as a Home2 Suites. He estimates the project would create 150 to 200 construction jobs and 63 permanent positions, excluding hotel vendors.

A second phase would heavily focus on sustainability: a 393-space automated parking garage, EV charging infrastructure, rooftop solar and wind installations and a microgrid system, according to the publication. Board member Senyo Ador, co-founder of clean-energy firm Sesenergi Eco Solutions Enterprise, is overseeing that component, positioning the site as a training ground for solar careers and even for the mechanics of the automated parking system itself.

Backers said the campus has been in development since 2021 and is intended as a modernized community anchor. If city approvals fall into place, the team believes it can turn around the project within 18 months.

— Eric Weilbacher