Chicago’s West Side residents in need of a career change will soon have a place to go back to school.
A pair of nonprofit developers secured $7.25 million in tax increment funding to reposition the former Robert Emmet Public School in the South Austin neighborhood as a career advancement center, Urbanize Chicago reported.
Chicago’s Community Development Commission approved granting the TIF money for Austin Coming Together and Westside Health Authority to redevelop the school property at 5500 West Madison Street as the proposed Aspire Center. The currently vacant former school closed to students in 2015 and was bought by the authority from Chicago Public Schools in 2018.
The Aspire Center for Workforce Innovation is being designed by Lamar Johnson Collaborative. Plans include renovating the school and restoring the original classrooms into functional spaces that can serve workforce development and training needs.
Austin Coming Together’s website says the Aspire Center will “serve as a centralized location for Austin’s youth and unemployed and underemployed adults seeking career training and support.”
Plans for the 76,500-square-foot project also show a new three-story addition that will serve as the new entryway for the building. In addition to the workforce training space, there will also be a restaurant and bank included in the development.
The estimated $28 million cost of the project includes the TIF funding, $6.1 million in equity from the developers, $4.5 million in tax credits and $10 million in state funding.
A temporary POP!Courts plaza space will be created on the open corner of the property. The plaza, which will be replaced by a retail building in a future phase of the project, will have a turf field, workout space and outdoor yoga area.
With the win at the Community Development Commission, the developers head to the city council to secure final approval for the TIF funding.
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— Victoria Pruitt