Work to start on new Howard Brown clinic in Lake View

Howard Brown Health is starting construction Friday on a $44 million clinic allowing it to expand health services in Lakeview.

The five-story, 71,000-square-foot building is expected to open in 2023. Howard Brown executives said the building at 3501 N. Halsted St. is designed to serve 23,000 patients a year compared with the 7,500 patients seen annually at its current location, 3245 N. Halsted.

The new building will include Howard Brown’s first North Side dental practice, increased room for behavioral health treatment and more services for HIV prevention and care, the organization said. A spokesperson said the site initially will accommodate a staff of about 100 that should grow over time to 160.

Howard Brown has 11 locations around Chicago, but its historic heart is in the Northalsted LGBTQ community within Lake View. The new clinic has been designed by Chicago-based Eckenhoff Saunders Architects.

“Howard Brown Health is thrilled with this next step in increasing access to affirming health care services for the LGBTQ+ community on the North Side,” President and CEO David Ernesto Munar said. “Howard Brown has proudly served the Northalsted community for nearly 50 years. We strive to be a reliable safe space for anyone looking for culturally competent health and wellness services, and we hope our new site contributes to preserving the LGBTQ+ culture of the historic neighborhood.”

The new clinic will replace a one-story building that included Little Jim’s Tavern, one of the community’s first gay bars. It closed in 2020.

The organization has a long-term lease at 3245 N. Halsted, but a spokesperson said a future use of the property is yet to be decided.