RESOLVING THE LEDGER
This is one outlet's own report from Chicago Sun-Times — the article as it was filed.
Four years after introducing plans for Woodlawn Central — a sprawling neighborhood campus dedicated to celebrating Black culture — developers will be breaking ground Saturday on the project's first phase.
The Apostolic Church of God aims for the roughly 8-acre project to become an economic catalyst for the South Side neighborhood, centering residents, Black-owned businesses and cultural institutions. It comes on the heels of the Obama Presidential Center opening in nearby Jackson Park.
Phase one of the $580 million megadevelopment will have a 14-story, 104-unit apartment building and a hotel of the same height with 160 rooms, along with commercial and retail spaces and a pocket park. It's also expected to create 100 temporary jobs and 700 permanent jobs, according to development plans.
More housing will be added across the other phases, along with more retail that will house makerspaces, business incubators and co-working hubs.
When complete, Woodlawn Central will also include senior housing, a theater, office space, an urban farm and green spaces to promote wellness and recreation.
In total, there’s expected to be roughly 870 homes — a mix of workforce, market-rate, luxury and senior units. The development will include 20% affordable housing, as required under the city’s Affordable Requirements Ordinance, but it's aiming for 30% of the homes to be affordable. Units will span from one- to three-bedrooms, with some supporting multigenerational living, according to the project's website.
The first phase is expected to take 18 months and cost about $134 million, according to plans submitted to the city. Its two towers — one for the hotel and another for housing — will sit above a large retail and parking podium.
Rendering of Woodlawn Central’s first phase.
Provided by Gensler
"Woodlawn Central continues the legacy of bringing together housing, economic opportunity, businesses, jobs, hospitality, and community spaces in a development designed to serve both the people who are here today and the generations who will follow," Bishop Byron Brazier, pastor of the Apostolic Church of God, said in a news release.
Woodlawn Central is being built on land clustered around 63rd Street and Dorchester Avenue that was previously used by the church for parking. The church owns the land, and developer J. Byron Brazier — son of the church’s pastor — is leading the project.
Brazier and a representative for the Apostolic Church didn't respond to a request for comment.
The vision for Woodlawn Central is to create a thriving, self-sustaining community by celebrating Black heritage and fostering innovation, according to the project’s brochure. More than 80% of Woodlawn’s population is Black, according to 2020 data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Many longtime residents have expressed concerns about gentrification and displacement , especially as a result of the Obama Presidential Center. Also top of mind for residents has been Aquinnah Investment Trust’s proposal for a 26-story hotel next door to Island Terrace, an affordable housing development on Stony Island Avenue. In April 2025, residents held a protest against the proposed hotel, warning it could lead to higher rents. The Chicago Plan Commission approved the project in August 2025.
Woodlawn Central's development team believes there can be a path to long-term prosperity for residents without pushing them out by offering a mix of affordable, market-rate and senior housing, along with new job and economic growth opportunities, according to its brochure.
The project will create construction-related jobs, increase investment in the area and present new opportunities for local businesses, the church said in a news release. It also expects to attract visitors, host community events and contribute to the long-term vitality of the neighborhood.
Brazier previously told the Sun-Times that Woodlawn Central wants to be a good neighbor. But he’s cognizant of how the area will be impacted by the Obama Presidential Center’s opening .
“With the Obama Center coming up, we know that there’s going to be [a] need for lodging; there’s going to be [a] need for other cultural aspects,” Brazier said. “We’re looking at trying to have some semblance of connectivity, but letting the Obama center and its opening breathe and having its time. I think part of the stewardship of being good friends and neighbors is not trying to overshadow or trying to do too much at one time.”
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