Mosaic Construction Completes Newest Location for Stride Autism Center, Supporting Children with Autism

Mosaic Construction LLC, a full-service commercial and multifamily design-build firm, has completed construction of a new facility for Stride Autism Centers (Stride) at 6400 W. North Avenue in Oak Park, Illinois. The new location, one of more than 20 Stride Autism Centers across the country, includes a safe free-play natural environment space, circle time areas and more than ten new individualized instruction spaces customized for the needs of children with autism.

Inspired by his adult sister who has a severe autism spectrum disorder (ASD) called Rett Syndrome, Stride Founder and CEO Brad Zelinger developed the centers to help children ages 2-6 in underserved communities build independent and joyous lives. Stride is renowned for their full-day, evidence-based applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy program that prepares children with autism for kindergarten and beyond.

“We are proud to have built a new center for Stride that provides the best possible environment for children with autism to learn, play and socialize with their peers in a safe setting,” said Ira Singer, Founder and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Mosaic Construction. “Focusing on customization and the creation of a natural learning setting, we transformed a sterile, vacant office space into a vibrant and engaging environment ready to support the unique needs of Stride’s clients.”

Constructing spaces for special needs

The 6,700-square-foot space was completely reinvented. The new learning center includes a reading nook and mural wall inside the activity room, as well as new flooring, appliances, paint and updates to bathrooms and classrooms. Key project partners included Huron Design Group (architecture), Splash 10 (interior design), North Builders (carpentry and drywall), D&D Flooring (flooring), Frank Bak Decorating (painting), Brew Plumbing (plumbing), Parkside Electric (electric) and G&C Glass, Mirror and Construction (storefront glass).

“Every young child with autism deserves the best learning environment for their needs. Mosaic thoughtfully designed and built our new center to support the learning goals of our program,” said Zelinger. “As a Chicago native, I appreciate Mosaic’s local commitment to building a center that supports preschool-aged children with autism and their families — leading to meaningful outcomes not only for the students but also for their families and the entire community.”