ARK New Development

A closed school, coming back to life.

The ARK is restoring a shuttered public school at 2221 S. Lawndale Ave. into a campus for young people, early childhood through young adulthood, on one site. Doors open in 2028.

Architectural rendering of the restored school, showing the new entrance and atrium on Lawndale Avenue

The ARK Entrepreneurial 2221 S. Lawndale Ave., opening 2028 Rendering: DesignBridge, Ltd

The campus, by the numbers

48,121Square feet across three floors, plus a new addition

96Children in licensed early childhood care, ages 0–5

200Young people in entrepreneurship and workforce programming

24Transitional living units for young adults

Paderewski has been closed for years. Rather than build from the ground up, we are bringing a purpose-built school back into use: three floors that already exist, and a new addition for the atrium and the gymnasium.

The building will be fully cleaned and certified before construction begins. That takes a hazard off the block, and it returns a public building to public purpose.

Ground floor for the youngest children. Classrooms and the library above it. Transitional living at the top, because some young people need more than a class, and a pathway only works if there is somewhere to stand while you walk it.

What happens on each floor

Ground

Six early childhood classrooms, offices, a conference room, the kitchen, the gymnasium, and the grand atrium with both entry lobbies.

Second

Six classrooms, a computer lab, the student lounge and resource library, offices and the staff lounge.

Third

Twenty-four single-occupancy transitional living units, the common laundry, and the resident and visitor lounge.

Site advantages: a park across the street, two parking areas, wide setbacks, an existing curb cut, Cermak Road frontage, and utilities already in place.

Diagram of the building's three floors, showing which programs sit on each — Program stacking · DesignBridge, May 2026

Help build it

The campus is a project of roughly $20 million, in two phases. Phase 1 clears and certifies the site. Phase 2 builds the campus. Every gift moves it forward.

Give to the build

Any amount, once or monthly. It goes to the campaign for the new campus.

Donate now →

Make a leadership gift

Naming and recognition opportunities are available at the building, program-space and founding-donor levels. We would rather have the conversation than send a brochure.

Start a conversation →

Every other way

There is more than one way to build it.

A campus takes money, and it takes people. Volunteer with our young people, be an ambassador for the work, or bring what your organization already has: space, programming, a paid placement, an introduction.

Help build The ARK →