The Pullman and Roseland neighborhoods celebrated the opening of the Gwendolyn Brooks College Preparatory School’s new $3 million state-of-the-art multi-sport stadium and the momentum it adds to the renaissance of the community.
A football game between Brooks College Prep and Perspective Leadership High School kicked-off following the ribbon cutting celebration that marked the official opening of the new stadium at 250 West 111th Street in Roseland, near the Pullman Historic District.
Ninth Ward Alderman Anthony Beale, representatives from the Chicago Public Schools and the City of Chicago joined: special guest Alexandria Anderson, a U.S. Track and Field World Champion; students; faculty; staff; and parents prior to the game for the community celebration commemorating the grand opening of the stadium and the community’s newest destination. The stadium features a year-round playing surface in the Brooks College Prep Eagles’ team blue color. It is the home to Brooks’ football, soccer, and track and field teams and is one of only a very few Chicago Public Schools to have a stadium on its campus. The new stadium currently has a seating capacity of 700, but is expected to increase once additional funding is secured.
“I believe in providing the best education for our students, and facilities play a big role in that,” said 9th Ward Alderman Anthony Beale. The new stadium and playing field will surely help the Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep athletic program to move forward while providing an opportunity for student athletes to perform at a high-level in front of their families and friends, and creating a fun destination for the community,” added Alderman Beale.
Additional recognition for a CPS school in the community was received when the U.S. Department of Education recently announced the Edgar Allen Poe Elementary School was being awarded a National Blue Ribbon. The Blue Ribbon honors the Poe Elementary School for having made dramatic gains in student achievement and helping to close gaps in achievement among minority and disadvantaged students. Poe Elementary was one of only 16 public schools in Illinois and 342 schools nationwide to be honored with this distinction in 2017.
And another transformational project for the area was also introduced last month when plans for Pullman Crossing, a new 50-plus acre industrial park designed to create more than 1,000 new jobs, was shared with the community. The new industrial park will be part of Pullman Park, the 180-acre mixed use development that has generated more than $250 million of new investments and created more than 1,100 jobs with the addition of a 150,000 square-foot Walmart Supercenter and more than 70,000 square feet of new retail space anchored by a Ross Dress for Less, Planet Fitness and Advocate Health Care. It all comes on the heels of the grand opening of the Whole Foods distribution center, creating 150 jobs slated to open later in early 2018 and another new retail center at 111th Street, just west of Doty Avenue, opening this fall.
“Thanks to the commitment and passion for education and the ability of our teachers, staff, students and parents to work collaboratively, we can be proud of what the schools in our community are accomplishing,” said Alderman Beale.
