Draper and Kramer completes second phase of renovations at Bronzeville retail center

Draper and Kramer, Incorporated completed the second phase of its ongoing renovation of the Lake Meadows Market retail center in Chicago’s Bronzeville neighborhood. The final element of Phase 2 was a full interior and exterior renovation of the center’s 193,000-square-foot Jewel-Osco grocery store. Jewel-Osco parent company, Albertsons, shared costs of the $2.3 million project, which also included the addition of a custom exterior mural, entitled “Heart of Bronzeville,” by local artist Corey Jenkins, founder and CEO of Jayinex, Inc.

Previous Phase 2 work included the addition of more than 18,000 square feet of new and renovated retail space for new tenants, including Taco Bell, Wing Stop, Home Run Inn Pizza and Sola Salon Studios, and Chicago’s first Culver’s, which opened at Lake Meadows Market in 2018. Several additional new tenants are expected to open later this year.

“As part of Draper and Kramer’s longstanding commitment to Bronzeville and our overall vision for the Lake Meadows community, we continue to bring new retail options to the Lake Meadows Market,” said Gordon Ziegenhagen, vice president with Chicago-based Draper and Kramer. “We are proud to introduce these shopping, dining and service offerings to our Lake Meadows residents and neighbors in Bronzeville and surrounding communities.”

Updates to the interior of the Jewel-Osco doubled the size of the store’s “fresh zone,” and also added new coolers, flooring, fixtures, wall coverings and lighting. Exterior updates included a completely new facade as well as the addition of Jenkins’ “Heart of Bronzeville” mural. The architect for the Jewel-Osco renovation was Camburas & Theodore Ltd., and the general contractor was Chicago- and Gary, Indiana-based Powers & Sons Construction Company.

Phase 1 of the Lake Meadows Market renovation, which was completed in 2015, added a new 40,000-square-foot LA Fitness and also renovated existing retail space. Plans for Phase 3, which Draper and Kramer plans to launch this summer, will add a vehicle and pedestrian “market square” linking the north and south portions of the center, more than 10,000 square feet of new and renovated retail and restaurant space and outdoor seating, landscaping, lighting and art features.

Lake Meadows Market is part of the 70-acre Lake Meadows community, which includes 1,869 apartments across nine buildings and has been managed by Draper and Kramer since the 1950s.