AUSTIN FORWARD. TOGETHER. 2021 QUARTER 2 THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY PUBLISHED ITS FIRST QUALITY-OF-LIFE PLAN CALLED AUSTIN FORWARD. TOGETHER. (AFT) IN 2018. THIS QUARTERLY PUBLICATION DESCRIBES HOW AUSTIN COMING TOGETHER (ACT) IS SUPPORTING THE COMMUNITY TO IMPLEMENT AFT AND OTHER EFFORTS.
IS THIS AUSTIN’S
WIN-WIN? How can the community ensure key redevelopment projects implement their plans to benefit all?
REVIVING A LANDMARK PAGE 3 | LEADING TO THIS MOMENT PAGE 4 AUSTIN’S PATH TO REVITALIZATION PAGE 7 Special thanks to our Austin Forward. Together. quality-of-life plan annual investors:
July 21, 2021
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Austin Weekly News • July 21, 2021
AUSTIN FORWARD. TOGETHER. 2021 QUARTER 2
Since 2010, Austin Coming Together (ACT) has facilitated collaboration to improve education and economic development outcomes in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood. Today, we serve a network of 50+ organizations committed to improving the quality of life in the Austin community. Our strategic plan is called Thrive 2025 and outlines how we will mobilize our resources to achieve 4 impact goals by the year 2025: Quality Early Learning, Safe Neighborhoods, Living Wage Careers, and Stable Housing Markets.
ACT BOARD OF DIRECTORS Officers
TREASURER
LaDarius Curtis
CHAIR
Senior Director of Community Engagement & Health, West Side United
Larry Williams Broker, State Farm Insurance
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
VICE-CHAIR
Darnell Shields
Angela Waller Community & Government Relations Director, Advocate Aurora Health
Austin Coming Together
Bradly Johnson Director of External Affairs, BUILD Inc.
Ruth Kimble
Senior Director of Strategy & Operations, West Side United
Founder & CEO, Austin Childcare Providers Network
Reginald Little
Jerrod Williams
Mortgage Loan Originator, Fifth Third Bank
Law Clerk, Illinois Appellate Court
Dawn Ferencak
Directors
Senior Marketing Strategist, Chicago Parent
Sharon Morgan
SECRETARY
Tenisha Jones
Director of Graduate Support & Community Outreach, Catalyst Schools
Reverend Reginald E. Bachus
Deborah Williams Community Outreach & Engagement Specialist, Habilitative Systems, Inc.
In Memoriam BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jack Macnamara 1937–2020 FOUNDING BOARD CHAIR
Mildred Wiley 1955–2019
Pastor, Friendship Baptist Church
ACT STAFF Leadership Darnell Shields Executive Director
Shavion Scott Deputy Director
Andrew Born Research & Evaluation
*Also part of the ACT Leadership Team
Strategic Initiatives Sandra Diaz* Service Delivery Enhancement Manager, Austin Community Hub
Janelle Martin Hub Coordinator, Austin Community Hub
Jai Jones
Grace Cooper
Engagement Specialist, Austin Community Hub
Project Coordinator, Austin Forward. Together.
JeVon D. Moore
Nicole Marcus
Planning & Investment Manager, Austin Forward. Together.
Neighborhood Network Liaison
Ethan Ramsay
Micro Market Recovery Program Coordinator
Lead Organizer, Austin Forward. Together.
By The Hand Club For Kids Cara Catholic Charities Chicago Austin Youth Travel Adventures Chicago Community Loan Fund City of Refuge Cluster Tutoring Program Defy Ventures Illinois Erikson Institute Friends of the Children Friendship Community Development Corp. of Austin
Natalie Goodin
Marketing & Development Alicia Plomin* Marketing & Development Manager
Dearra Williams Marketing & Development Associate
We’re hiring! AustinComingTogether.org
Engagement Specialist, Austin Community Hub
ACT MEMBER ORGANIZATIONS A House in Austin Academy of Scholastic Achievement Austin Childcare Providers Network Austin Community Family Center Austin Weekly News (Growing Community Media) Be Strong Families Beat the Streets Chicago Because I Care Bethel New Life Beyond Hunger BUILD Inc.
Dollie Sherman
Greater West Town Community Development Project Housing Forward i.c.stars IFF Institute for Nonviolence Chicago Jane Addams Resource Corporation Kids First Chicago KRA Westside American Job Center Legal Aid Chicago (fka LAF) Manufacturing Renaissance Mary Shyrese Daycare
Maryville Academy Mercy Housing Lakefront New Moms OAI, Inc. Oak Park Regional Housing Center Open Books PCC Community Wellness Center Project Exploration Renaissance Social Services, Inc. Sarah’s Inn South Austin Neighborhood Association St. Joseph Services
St. Leonard’s Ministries Stone Community Development Corporation The Catalyst Schools The Journey Forward The Loretto Hospital The North Avenue District, Inc. Towers of Excellence UIC Jane Addams College of Social Work VOCEL Westside Health Authority West Side Forward Worldvision Youth Guidance
AUSTIN FORWARD. TOGETHER. 2021 QUARTER 2
Austin Weekly News • July 21, 2021
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Reviving a landmark By Darnell Shields Executive Director, Austin Coming Together
W
hen you think of your community, some key places stand out. In Austin, several spots immediately come to mind. One of those buildings everyone remembers is Laramie State Bank on the corner of Chicago Avenue and Laramie. The design of the building reflects the confidence and exuberance of Austin in the 1920’s, with world-class Art Deco architecture and hundreds of artisan terracotta tiles. Its exterior ornamentation depicts heroic workers, families, and images of economic stability. It is a visual representation of the prestige Austin once had. Despite its former glory, the building has been boarded up and vacant for over ten years, serving as a reminder of the neglect Austin has experienced.
A NEW LIFE FOR AN OLD TREASURE “Laramie State Bank is a critical project for the entire Austin community, for the vision of the future, and for attracting dollars to Maurice Cox, Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Planning and Development, announcing the winning developers for the INVEST South/West redevelopment projects.
Protest after the March announcement. Photo by Igor Studenkov / Austin Weekly News.
recognize the importance of Austin,” believes Scott Goldstein, urban strategist for economic development and neighborhood revitalization projects at Teska Associates since 2007 and among those who worked on the Austin Forward. Together. quality-of-life plan. The reactivation and development of the bank and its adjacent land will be the justice this beautiful building deserves, and a sign that Austin is regaining its vitality and prominence. Laramie State Bank is one of Austin’s treasures. We now have the chance to preserve this piece of history while showing our community, and those outside it, that the bank and Austin are ready for investment and brimming with possibilities.
IMPORTANT AND ENDANGERED Built in 1929, Laramie State Bank was named a Chicago Landmark in 1995 and anchors a highly trafficked intersection. However, it was foreclosed upon and over time, its beautiful terracotta exterior chipped away and the lot became overgrown. After a portion of the roof collapsed, more damage continued, and a court hearing in 2017 deemed the deteriorating site “insecure.” The city inspection left the
Although the area has owners unsure of seen some progress, how, or if, the bank Laramie State Bank has would get the help Laramie State Bank is not, and it was added to and support it needed. Chicago’s And the community a critical project for the Preservation list of the seven most was worried, too. The hearing was entire Austin community, endangered buildings in 2019. attended by many concerned community for the vision of the After years passed stakeholders wanting many attempts to future, and for attracting and to learn what the generate interest and future of this important dollars to recognize the resources for this massive site would be and if project were unsuccessful, they could help. Local a glimmer of hope came importance of Austin. organizations and when Laramie State Bank others began advocacy was included as a focus SCOTT GOLDSTEIN, efforts immediately. of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s TESKA ASSOCIATES Activists brought the INVEST South/West issue to their aldermen. initiative. Soon after, the city expanded Austin’s Micro While some west side stakeholders disagreed Market Recovery Zone, a specific geographic area for which incentives are offered for home with aspects of the city’s developer selection process, plans are now underway to give purchases, renovations, or development. This this historic site the love and attention brought even more attention to the Chicago Austin has been calling for. So much has Avenue corridor. gone into creating this moment. It is not a straightforward or simple story, but one about a beautiful convergence of interests built over time. And it needs to be one that ends with a way for this site to benefit Austin in both the short and long term. n Please continue reading for more background on why this moment is a milestone on our path to revitalizing Austin.
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Austin Weekly News • July 21, 2021
AUSTIN FORWARD. TOGETHER. 2021 QUARTER 2
Leading to this moment Austin was once a thriving community. Today, despite its challenges, it is on its way back to that. The last decade has been full of dedicated community stakeholders relentlessly working to bring opportunities for sustainable change. Here are some pivotal moments along our journey that created the time and space we find ourselves in.
2014
2013
AAABNA’s vision for a culturally distinctive commercial corridor inspires research that focuses on the potential for leveraging underutilized land to promote Black culture, arts, entertainment, and seeking economic development, job creation, and new business development that serves residents. As a result, the portion of Chicago Avenue between Austin Boulevard and Central Avenue is established as the Soul City Corridor.
Laquan McDonald’s murder causes the city to ask groups like AAABNA what communities need. The answer is intentional focused investment of city dollars, resources, talents and influence to help businesses grow, thrive, rebuild and start. Then Mayor Rahm Emanuel responds with a commitment that results in the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund, as well as Retail Thrive Zones which years later Mayor Lori Lightfoot transforms into INVEST South/West.
2016 AV 72 Chicago becomes the first Special Service Area (SSA) in Austin. SSA’s are improvement districts that reinvest tax dollars back into the community through special services and programs. SSA 72’s biggest goal for Austin’s Chicago Avenue corridor between Central and Cicero is to improve safety, economic vitality, and establish a cultural identity that will foster business growth and development within the corridor and for the community at large. The nonprofit Westside Health Authority manages and carries out the initiatives of AV 72 Chicago.
2017 Court hearings over the future of Laramie State Bank cause residents to worry about this important historic site. Many attend the hearings and write letters to local officials and media to try to help.
Colin Boyle / Block Club Chicago
Shows the portion of Chicago Avenue in Austin where the Retail Thrive Zone and the SSA 72 overlap. For more details, see page 27 of the full version of the Austin Forward. Together. quality-of-life plan.
GET EVEN MORE DETAILS ON THESE EVENTS AT AustinComingTogether.org/QLP
AUSTIN FORWARD. TOGETHER. 2021 QUARTER 2
2019
2020
Preservation Chicago’s most endangered buildings list includes Laramie State Bank, raising its profile as an opportunity for catalytic redevelopment but one that will need major financial and community support to achieve. Implementation of the Austin Forward. Together. (AFT) quality-oflife plan begins, addressing a set of comprehensive, community-led strategies for neighborhood change. Created from the ideas of over 500 community stakeholders, it aims to attract, coordinate, and support opportunities to improve the community’s narrative, education, housing, youth empowerment, economic development, public safety, and civic engagement. Plus, the Chicago Avenue corridor is identified among the focal redevelopment projects in the plan. INVEST South/ West is announced by Mayor Lori Lightfoot to drive investment to neighborhoods historically overlooked. The initiative targets Austin, with a focus on the Soul City Corridor, actually expanding it to include the Retail Thrive Zone area and SSA Avenue 72. Priorities include streetscape improvements, connections to financial support for existing or new businesses, and identifying specific lots for development such as Laramie State Bank.
The ASPIRE Initiative is named one of six finalists for the $10 million Chicago Prize and starts garnering investments. This effort is created out of several goals and ideas from AFT and outlines how Austin can build a stronger cradleto-career pipeline through four investments strategically clustered around existing assets in an area bound by Madison, Chicago, Central, and Laramie Avenues: The Aspire Education & Wellness Campus; Aspire Austin College & Career Academy; The Aspire Center for Workforce Innovation; and Aspire Housing. The $121-million-dollar effort is a collaboration between ACT, Westside Health Authority, and By The Hand Club For Kids.
Austin Weekly News • July 21, 2021
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2021 INVEST South/West releases Request for Proposals for the redevelopment of Laramie State Bank and the Austin United Alliance was selected. Their proposed $37.5 million project will renovate the landmark bank building to potentially include a blues museum, bank branch, café, and business incubator. The approximately 20,000 square-feet of adjacent land might be redeveloped into a mixed-income, multistory rental building that includes a green roof, public plaza, social spaces, and outdoor art. The project is expected Earl Chase, executive director of Heartland to generate up to Housing, and Athena Williams, executive director of the Oak Park Regional Housing 150 construction jobs Center, are leading Austin United Alliance, the team redeveloping Laramie State Bank. and around 22 fullPhoto by John R. Boehm / Crain’s Chicago time positions. Business
POPCourts! on the corner of Chicago Avenue and Lockwood is a vacant lot turned event space whose grand opening is attended by Mayor Lori Lightfoot, other government officials, and residents who are all excited about the programs and liveliness it brings to this part of Austin.
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Austin Weekly News • July 21, 2021
AUSTIN FORWARD. TOGETHER. 2021 QUARTER 2 Education
Housing
Public Safety
TASK FORCE CHAIRS
TASK FORCE CHAIRS
TASK FORCE CHAIRS
Plan Leaders
Natasha Smith-Walker
Athena Williams
Bradly Johnson
Community Narrative
Crystal Bell
Project Exploration
Economic Development
TASK FORCE CHAIRS
TASK FORCE CHAIRS
Briana Shields
Jerrod Williams
Briana Janeé Arts
Kenneth Varner Healthy Schools Campaign
STRATEGY LEADS
Lasondra Kern
Community Resident
Suzanne McBride Austin Talks
Michael Romain
Austin Weekly News
Alicia Plomin
Austin Coming Together
Cindy Schneider Spaces-n-Places
Community Resident, South Austin Neighborhood Association Member
Heather Sattler
Community Development Consultant STRATEGY LEADS
Erica Staley
Manufacturing Renaissance
Emily Peters
Ella Flagg Young Elementary School
Charles Anderson
Michele Clark High School STRATEGY LEADS
Ruth Kimble
Austin Childcare Providers Network
Madelyn James
Austin Childcare Providers Network
Pam Price
Chicago Public Schools
West Cook Homeownership Center/ OPRHC
Allison McGowan
Community Resident STRATEGY LEADS
Shirley Fields Hunters Realty
Rosie Dawson Westside Health Authority
Athena Williams
West Cook Homeownership Center/ OPRHC
Natasha Dunn
Jane Addams Resource Corporation
VOCEL
Tina Augustus
Community Resident
Cata Truss
Austin Chamber of Commerce Sean Schindl Kids First Chicago Roxanne Charles
BUILD Inc.
Marilyn Pitchford Heartland Alliance
STRATEGY LEADS
Adam Alonso
Youth Empowerment
Civic Engagement
TASK FORCE CHAIRS
TASK FORCE CHAIR
Carmen Scott-Boria
Deborah Williams
BUILD Inc.
D’elegance Lane Westside Health Authority
BUILD Inc.
STRATEGY LEADS
Bradly Johnson
Deonna Hart
BUILD Inc.
BUILD Inc.
Edwina Hamilton
Gina Young
BUILD Inc.
Catholic Charities
Juan Villalobos
Aisha Oliver
BUILD Inc.
Gina Young
Habilitative Systems Inc. STRATEGY LEADS
Arnold Bearden
South Austin Neighborhood Association (SANA)
Crystal Gardner
Community Resident
Sharif Walker Bethel New Life
Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
Catholic Charities
Bertha Purnell
Mothers OnA Mission28
Jose Abonce
The Policing Project
Ruby Taylor Taproots, Inc.
West Side Forward
INTERESTED IN JOINING AN IMPLEMENTATION TASK FORCE?
Contact ACT’s Lead Organizer, Ethan Ramsay at 630.474.4016 or eramsay@austincomingtogether.org for more information
AUSTIN FORWARD. TOGETHER. 2021 QUARTER 2
Austin Weekly News • July 21, 2021
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Austin’s path to revitalization By Alicia Plomin Marketing & Development Manager, Austin Coming Together
N
eighborhood transformation does not happen overnight. In Austin, the health of corridors like Chicago Avenue is instrumental to the community’s chance of sustaining positive change.
As a main east/west thoroughfare that connects all main north/south thoroughfares, it has great promise to become a thriving business and entertainment district. In 2013, Malcolm Crawford, executive director of the Austin African American Business Networking Association, worked with the Department of Planning and Development to create a commercial thrive zone initiative called the “Soul City Corridor.” Since then, the 1.5-mile stretch of Chicago Avenue between Austin Boulevard and Cicero Avenue has been growing into a center for commercial development, and for celebrating African-American food, culture, and art.
CATALYTIC INVESTMENT Mayor Lori Lightfoot established the INVEST South/West equitable community development strategy in 2019 focusing on driving resources and advocacy to Austin and nine other areas traditionally overlooked by investment. The strategy reviewed community plans and feedback to establish a list of twelve key commercial corridors in these communities that when improved, would impact the nearby residents and businesses as well as those in surrounding community areas. Chicago Avenue from Kilpatrick Avenue to Austin Boulevard was chosen as Austin’s priority corridor because it had historically been a center of activity, amenities, and services for residents and with the recent efforts around the Soul City Corridor. It is on its way to being that hub once again. INVEST South/West took existing work and plans into consideration and in Austin, that also meant Austin Forward. Together. (AFT), the community’s first ever quality-of-life plan which was initiated in 2019. In addition to the Issue Areas, AFT includes several focal projects that are specific geographic sites where large-scale physical redevelopment projects would catalyze and attract more investment and development throughout Austin. During the planning phase of AFT, an obvious section to include was the Chicago Avenue corridor.
LISC Chicago and Teska Associates worked with Austin Coming Together (ACT) to lead the community through visioning sessions to generate ideas while considering the built environment and craft AFT. “Through generations it has been seen as a significant building in the neighborhood. Its presence on the street is symbolic of what the street was and what Austin wants it to become,” said Jack Swenson, former consultant and program officer for LISC.
CHAMPIONS OF AUSTIN Countless residents, non-residents, and organizations have been working tirelessly for years to make this moment possible. Transforming such a noticeable landmark, like the Laramie State Bank into a usable, safe space open to the community is a key part of Austin’s vision. It would mean acknowledging the community’s voice as valuable and worthy. From her travel agency on Chicago Avenue, longtime Austin resident Crystal Dyer often watches architecture tours stop in front of the bank on their way west to Oak Park. Just as she hopes traveling will inspire the kids she impacts through her nonprofit Chicago Austin Youth Travel Adventures, she hopes Laramie State Bank’s international reputation as an architectural gem will inspire Austinites to take pride in their community’s history and respect the assets that still stand today.
Dyer was part of the Steering Committee who helped create the AFT quality-of-life plan and remembers conversation about highlighting Chicago Avenue as a way to give the corridor the second chance it deserves.
SIGNS OF PROGRESS The culmination of all these efforts has unlocked opportunities that are already making an impact. The June grand opening of POPCourts!, a vacant lot turned outdoor plaza at Chicago and Lockwood, was standing room only. With a mural of prominent black figures, shaded seating areas, a basketball court, and even gravel parking for food trucks, the colorful corner is a visual representation of the vibrancy of Austin and the growth that is coming. Over 20 projects are currently in various stages, including a cafe, restaurants, grocery store, and fitness club. Streetscape enhancements are also planned and will include a public discussion to get the community’s thoughts on the specific elements. Through the Department of Planning and Development (DPD), the City of Chicago continues to offer qualified development teams and nonprofit organizations the opportunity to submit proposals for opportunity sites in the INVEST South/West neighborhoods. This Request for Proposals development initiative selected Laramie State Bank in spring 2021. Even just the start of construction will help the entire city see Austin as it really is: full of history, culture, and potential. The Laramie State Bank project is a reminder that Austin is on the right path—a path to a more prominent future. Seven teams submitted proposals to develop the iconic bank site, and Austin United Alliance was announced as the chosen bid at a press conference in March. Austin United Alliance is a partnership of Heartland Housing and the Oak Park Regional Housing Center, whose executive director is Athena Williams, a longtime Austin resident and an AFT plan leader.
Austin residents Vanessa Stokes and Crystal Dyer at an ‘Austin Forward. Together.’ planning session discussing how to rewrite the narrative about the Austin community.
Many of the specifics of the project are still being worked out, but what cannot be denied is the significance of the reactivation of this important site. As work moves forward, it will be critical for community stakeholders to do their due diligence and hold Austin United Alliance accountable to make sure the benefits of the bank project come in ways the community expects and needs. n