On May 3 at 2 p.m. the Westside Health Authority (WHA) and Austin Coming Together (ACT), joined by Mayor Lightfoot, Planning Department Commissioner Maurice Cox and representatives from BMO and ITW, will break ground on the new ASPIRE Center for Workforce Innovation, located in the former Emmett Elementary School at 5500 W. Madison St. on Chicago’s West Side.
The ASPIRE Center is designed to be a one-stop shop for support services and career training and will house the Jane Addams Resource Corporation (JARC) and BMO. The Center will also feature a café, community plaza, a rooftop terrace event space and the recently opened POPF!t park. Both WHA and ACT plan to expand their core services at the Center. JARC will provide free training in manufacturing, welding and mechanical assembly. Holistic services in career development and financial services will also be available while BMO will provide retail banking services.
The ASPIRE Center is part of the ASPIRE Initiative, which is focused on investing and developing infrastructure to support businesses and schools, revitalize housing and boost workforce development in the Austin neighborhood. The initiative builds upon the community’s ‘‘Austin Forward. Together.’ (AFT)quality-of-life plan and is led by Austin Coming Together and Westside Health Authority while leveraging support from several other partners.
“The ASPIRE Center is the result of two years of community planning and engagement and will address multiple barriers that Austin residents face in training and accessing employment,” says Morris Reed, executive director of Westside Health Authority.
“By focusing on both career development and supportive services, the ASPIRE Center will improve the pathway to post-secondary education and jobs that provide a living wage,” says Darnell Shields, executive director of Austin Coming Together.
The ASPIRE Center will be in the former CPS Emmett Elementary School, shuttered in 2014. The building architect is Lamar Johnson Collaborative; general contractor is Sargent Blinderman; project management is through Project Management Advisors (PMA).
The project budget is roughly $40 million with over half of the costs being funded through city and state funds. Mayor Lightfoot’s Chicago Recovery Plan has awarded the project $12.25 million in TIF to date, and stateRep. La Shawn K. Fordhelped pass a bill that granted the project $10 million in 2021. The ASPIRE Center received more than $20,000 in contributions from community residents and grant funds from the Pritzker Traubert Foundation, We Rise Together, Chicago Community Trust, United Way of Metro Chicago, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Waddell Family Foundation, Joyce Foundation. Additional supporters include BMO, ITW, CHASE, IFF, Cinnaire, Enterprise, the Chicago Community Loan Fund and the Chicago Development Fund.
About the ASPIRE Initiative
The ASPIRE Initiative (ASPIRE) mobilizes existing community assets with new investments to impact the growth in educational and economic opportunities for Austinites of all ages. ASPIRE builds on the momentum of Austin’s quality-of-life plan called ‘Austin Forward. Together.’ (AFT)to create investments strategically clustered around existing assets in Austin. Learn more athttps://austincomingtogether.org/aspire/
About Austin Coming Together
Austin Coming Together (ACT) is a 501(c)3 organization that provides backbone support for a network of more than 50 non-profit, faith-based, public, and private entities committed to improving the quality of life in the Austin community. Since 2010, ACT has been connecting residents to services, attracting investments for the community, and building capacity for policy change. Learn more at austincomingtogether.org
About Westside Health Authority
Westside Health Authority (WHA) is a 30-year-old 501 (c)3 community-based organization. WHA builds capacity in people by giving them an opportunity to develop and use their ideas and talent to improve their community. With neighborhood people, WHA has built commercial space for Cook County’s Health Center, office space for medical providers, and rehabbed almost 40 vacant homes, using local contractors. Learn more at www.healthauthority.org