Details have been revealed for a new community center at 7950 S Emerald Avenue in Auburn Gresham. Occupying a nearly half-block site bound by S Halsted Street to the west, the currently vacant lot will eventually be home to the new $8 million center. Efforts for this are being led by locals Eliseo and Valentina Pacheco-Cornejo.
Site context map of 7950 S Emerald Avenue via Google Maps
Dubbed the Blue Azul Center, the multi-story structure will reach around 40-feet in height and contain over 20,000 square-feet of community-oriented space. Anchoring the center will be a large gym space with a full sized basketball court, this will be used by Pacheco-Cornejo’s non-profit Think BLUE, which provides basketball lessons and fitness training to all ages.
Rendering of Blue Azul Center by E.G. Woode
Designed by architecture collective E.G. Woode, the rest of the space will contain a fitness center, multi-use rooms, a courtyard, commercial kitchen, and a mental health clinic to be used by a mental health practice started by Valentina herself according to Block Club. There will also be an outdoor basketball court covered in art per renderings.
View of 7950 S Emerald Avenue via Google Maps
The majority of the building will be clad in a mix of gray, white, and blue precast panels, with a small parking lot located on the south end of the site. The development team most recently received $3.7 million towards the project via the city’s Community Development Grant. Fundraising is still ongoing, with a construction timeline currently unknown.
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The proliferation of these ‘community centers’ seem like a way to give tons of money to connected interests. On the face of it they are providing community services, but something doesn’t seem right about the $$ and quantity going on. Brandon Johnson’s friends are finally getting their payouts.
I’m just concerned about privatizing core government services. While community resources are certainly beneficial to the community, is this a reflection of the failure of the Park District, for example, to provide services it is supposed to provide? I’m also concerned about the provision of social services by religious groups, as they are rarely open to all. But that’s another matter…
Rents go down when we build rental units, not community centers.
What does this have to do with housing?
Most people are upset when the city constantly acts as a landlord or developer. (Since we don’t have the sustainable funds for such.)
But housing also isn’t permitted to every inch of land. This city has layers with zoning. You can’t just change that overnight. Also, why is a developer forced to build what they want?
A weird comment I’d say…
Has everything to do with housing: supply and demand. Zoning, affordability and all other government intervention is an economic distortion. I recommend ‘Capitalism and Freedom’ by Milton Friedman.
So a developer that doesn’t developer housing MUST do as you say?
Once again, weird comment overall.
Interesting location—a short shout out away to St. Sabina’s facility with lots of overlapping services. Where is the money coming from? For a city in decline, these major investments are “let them eat cake” responses to pension fund shortfalls and basic city service declines to meet budget needs.
Why isn’t the old zenith building on the list
Which list do you mean?