The Hatchery

Project Details

Project Description

Wight & Company has designed a new business incubator for the next generation of food and beverage entrepreneurs in Chicago. The incubator, called The Hatchery, is designed to serve entrepreneurs who need commercial kitchen workspace, coaching and other services to develop their businesses and produce their products. The Hatchery will house 56 private kitchens, a large shared kitchen, co-working and multi-function space, bulk storage and a loading dock. The innovative incubator project is the brainchild of Accion Chicago and the Industrial Council of Nearwest Chicago (ICNC), two non-profit organizations that work to encourage investment and economic development in Chicago neighborhoods. The Hatchery will also provide new office space for Accion Chicago, which will offer small business lending and support programs to tenants of The Hatchery and members of the local community. Wight’s design solution for bringing The Hatchery to life on 3.5 acres combines a reuse plan for an existing building and a highly adaptable approach to accommodate flexible programming and future growth in a newly constructed building. In developing the layout strategy, Wight grouped the 56 kitchens into suites. Private kitchen spaces range from 250 to 400 square feet and are designed in quadrants, featuring utility cores that will allow spaces to evolve and expand with minimal cost and disruption. Wight’s architects envision the space as a village where private production kitchens integrate seamlessly with collaborative spaces, allowing tenants to network and share ideas, as well as products. Expandable meeting spaces will readily accommodate large crowds for events, thanks to movable overhead doors. Expanses of clerestory windows will ensure that natural light permeates the interior, which will open to an outdoor plaza for market events and other public and private gatherings. The incubator will also feature a resident-run “neighborhood market,” which will operate year-round on The Hatchery’s grounds. Offerings will include produce from a 31-member community garden network. The neighborhood market concept was inspired by an existing farmer’s market that operated seasonally on the previously vacant site. The Hatchery will have capacity to accommodate approximately 100 start-up tenants. Wight & Company is serving as design architect and architect of record on the project. The firm is also providing structural engineering and construction management services for the complex, which is slated for completion in late 2018. The project is partially funded by the non-profit IFF, a mission-driver lender, real estate consultant and developer that works to help communities thrive.