Latent

Forty Acres Fresh Market

Project Description

Forty Acres Fresh Market is an independent, Black-woman-owned grocery store created to expand access to fresh, high-quality food on Chicago’s West Side. This $5-million adaptive reuse and community preservation project transforms a former Salvation Army 12,000-sf bowtruss structure through functional, utility, and façade retrofits, bringing produce access deep within a 30 year food desert. A bold metallic exterior references the store’s brand colors and the angled perspective of Sherman’s promised fields of 40 acres. Once wrapped in brown painted EFIS with no windows, the façade now features angled storefronts and generous views to vibrant produce inside. Interior reconfiguration accommodated a bank co-tenant and added a loading dock for large-scale deliveries. In coordination with parallel city initiatives, the renovation aligned construction for new bike lanes, pedestrian upgrades, and streetscape improvements, extending its impact from building to block scale. The project becomes essential civic infrastructure for neighborhood wellness.

Photos ©waznyvisual unless noted ©Latent.

Project Details

Date
2025
Location
Chicago, IL
Area
12,000 SF
Typology
Adaptive Reuse | Community Grocery
Client
Westside Health Authority
Client
Forty Acres Fresh Market
City Team
Chicago DPD

Partners

Contractor | Milhouse Engineering and Construction, Funding | Chicago Development Fund, Structural | Rockey Structures, MEPFP | CCJM, Civil | Engage Civil, TGDA | Landscape, Grocery Operations | Storemasters, Grocery Interior Decor | Retail Planit, Client Representative | IFF, Lighting | KSA Lighting & Controls

Awards

  • Retrofit Award | Metal Architecture | 2025
  • Illinois Real Estate Journal Awards | Redevelopment Chicago | 2026
Latent elevates the historical references, values + mission of Forty Acres Fresh Market by abstracting them into an iconic representation of 40 acres of crops utilizing inclined Morin Matrix Rainscreen panels by Kingspan to revitalize this adaptive re-use building. ©Latent

Project Gallery

The adaptive reuse of the old Salvation Army building at Waller St + Chicago Ave creates an impetus for continued corridor renewal.
Restoring the historical bowstring trusses. ©Latent
The exposed structure builds the design narrative inside the grocery store.
A revitalized street presence establishes Forty Acres as a deeply rooted community anchor.
“From a social infrastructure standpoint, a grocery store is part of the community. That’s community cohesiveness and social cohesion that makes the neighborhood better to live in.”

Liz AbunawOwner

  1. 1 Existing Conditions

    Former Salvation Army tied a new addition to a bowstring truss structure.

  2. 2 Chicago Avenue Presence

    Monumental Sign + Facade Study

  3. 3 Chicago Avenue Presence

    Integrating the Retail Tenant Facade

  4. 4 Facade Systems

    Typical Rainscreen

  5. 5 Facade Systems

    Vestibule Entrance w/ Steel Plate Canopy

  6. 6 Facade Systems

    Monumental Signage

  7. 7 Facade Systems

    Two Buildings in One | Bowstring Truss + Open Web Joist

Re-Activating Austin's Chicago Avenue with a Community Grocery and Bank.
Architectural geometries breathe new life into the store’s original concepts.
“This isn't normal. I can't bank. I can't go to a grocery store. It's not a food desert it's food apartheid.”

- Liz Abunaw, Owner2020 Forbes Article

The big sign symbolized a beacon of change for the community for the owner.
Standard Profiles ©Latent
Standard Colors ©Latent
CTA's Frequent Network Chicago Avenue Bus Route provides public transportation to a documented Food Desert.
Forty Acres architecture becomes legible in the produce aisle on Chicago Ave.
Restored Structure | Latent Architecture
Early morning semi food deliveries occur during golden hours while you were sleeping...
Shelves stocked with three-tier pricing system.
Nearly every product is priced at high, mid, value levels for an inclusive and health focused shopping commitment.
Without large scale distribution supply community grocers cannot exist.
Community focused effort to offer fresh produce via home deliveries and pop-up markets led to
Forward facing fresh produce at the entrance.
The nutrition corner partners with Foodsmart to offers customers nutrition guidance and recipe cards tailored to the stores seasonal produce.
Foodsmart’s Community Engagement Director built the Nutrition Corner, offering dietitian access, recipe cards, and SNAP support.
Helping strengthen communities bringing business into a historically disinvested area to addresses the root causes of hunger.
“It’s really time that this community has resources that are community-owned and community-focused”

Michael StrodeGarfield Park Resident

DPD's Soul City Corridor Reinvestment revitalized Chicago Avenue in the Austin neighborhood with strategic infrastructure civic projects.
Food insecurity is an impact of a lack of access to food in urban areas where, for instance, procuring fresh and healthy food is not a realistically walkable task.
“The other part is what she’s doing is helping strengthen communities by bringing business into a historically disinvested area and for us, that addresses the root causes of hunger.”

Man-Yee LeeGreater Chicago Food Depository

Discovery WalkNext Project