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After selling its current administrative offices to Northwestern Memorial Hospital in 2014, the Park District searched for a new administrative headquarters site. Twenty locations throughout the City were considered, and a site at 48th and Western was selected due to the City’s prioritization for neighborhood investment, the need for additional open space acreage in the community, the site’s direct access to public transportation, and the large size and neighborhood context of the available property. 

The Park District acquired the site in 2018, and in the within a year hired John Ronan Architects to design the park and fieldhouse. The project was issued for bid in summer 2020, broke ground in July 2021, and opened to the public and Park District staff in June 2023.  

The site consists of multiple parcels grouped into one, that previously housed a number of factories and processing facilities. These included Chicago Tube & Iron, Wilson Steel & Iron, and the former “World’s Famous Chocolate” facility. As these parcels housed industrial uses, environmental remediation was necessary to render the entire site fit for public park use. Remediation efforts began in 2019 and were completed a year later.

Community input was vital in designing the park’s indoor and outdoor spaces. The process included stakeholder and larger community meetings throughout 2020 and 2021, and ended with a community meeting focusing on park programming and project updates in March 2023. The project obtained Plan Commission approval in September 2020, and full City Council approval in October 2020. 

The INVEST South/West (ISW) initiative incentivizes significant investment to the neighborhoods of historic disinvestment and future opportunity to catalyze lasting change. Building a signature park and relocating the �첥��Ƶ headquarters to a community of need is a key success of the ISW initiative. Though not directly located in an ISW community, Park 596 shares a border at Western Avenue with the ISW New City Community Area, and is less than ½ mile from the New City priority corridor western terminus at Hoyne Avenue. Park 596 will leave a legacy of impact to the community in jobs, investment, open space and opportunity.