La Casa Norte

After eight years of hard work and fundraising, La Casa Norte transformed from a small shop to a roughly 50,000 square foot, five-story, $20 million-dollar mixed-use community center in the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago. La Casa Norte has a saying, “More than housing…hope,” which is what they offer. Those who are hungry and need a roof over their heads can come to La Casa Norte, where they can find fresh meat and produce or sit down for a meal.

La Casa Norte includes a private courtyard located in the center of the building and hidden entries for those looking for confidentiality. The building includes a medical clinic that is open for those who are both insured and uninsured.

Eriksson Engineering Associates, Ltd. (EEA) performed the following civil engineering services:

• Design of sidewalks and pavements within the public way to provide both vehicular and pedestrian access to these parcels
• Utility coordination
• Review of topographic mapping and boundary survey
• Preparation of demolition plan
• Site geometric control
• Finish of grading, setting of first-floor elevation
• Storm, sanitary, and water service design
• Permitting through local governing agencies

La Casa Norte received LEED Gold certification and is a proud third place recipient of the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Award for Excellence in Community Design, received at the 26th Annual Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards by LISC Chicago. This project was submitted in the Distinguished Building Award category for the AIA Chicago 2020 Design Excellence Awards.