Nancy Franco Maldonado Paseo Boricua Arts Building

The Nancy Franco Maldonado Paseo Boricua Arts Building is a new five-story-tall mixed-use building on Division Street in Chicago’s West Town neighborhood. The project provides 24 affordable apartments above a ground level space for a community gallery and theater. Studio, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom units share a community room and lounge, and off-street parking for 14 cars. The complex is conceived as a center of the arts for the local Puerto Rican community, providing live/work facilities for artists and fostering connections to the broader community through the ground floor services. Located on a predominantly commercial strip of Division Street east of Humboldt Park, the Nancy Franco Maldonado Paseo Boricua Arts Building continues that commercial character with its ground level theater and retail spaces. The concept for the design was cultural identity on display. Thus, the design of the building presents a modern interpretation of Puerto Rican architecture. A light grey base with four arches denote the commercial spaces. Most of the building is rendered in white, representing the metaphoric canvas that confronts all artists. A single protruding bay marks the residential entrance. Large wood-clad frames populate the façade and frame the lives of the artists within. The wood frames subtly recall wood shutters that are prevalent in Puerto Rico. Colors, an important element in traditional Puerto Rican architecture, mark the balconies in each apartment.