Aspire Project
100 Men 100 Homes
40 acres fresh market
Aspire project
Project Mission
In a continued effort to create opportunities for the citizens of the Greater Westside in Chicago, Westside Health Authority purchased 5500 West Madison (the former Emmet Elementary School) in 2018 on the recommendation of community stakeholders who desired to see the site redeveloped into a safe, attractive space for residents to access commerce and community services.
A History of Success
Over the years we have worked on various economic development projects on the westside of Chicago. We spearheaded the $5.5M Austin Wellness Center and Clinic, the Austin Peace and Justice Plaza, and AV72 Chicago, the First Special Service Area to be designated in the Austin community. Served 22,000 residents last year through housing development, public safety, youth empowerment, civic engagement, and economic development activities.
100 Men 100 Homes
Project Mission
100 MEN 100 HOMES’ mission is to revitalize the Austin and surrounding communities by using the capacity of ordinary citizens to rebuild their communities. The goal of the project is to employ 100 men residing in these communities to restore 100 vacant, foreclosed and/or abandoned properties for 100 low to moderate income families at a rehabilitation cost of less than $100,000 per home. 100 MEN 100 HOMES presents a comprehensive and cost effective approach for revitalization by leveraging public and private resources alongside proven community expertise to employ, empower, and build capacity of community members in restoring their own communities from the inside out.
Our Hope
It is the hope of this project will continue to gain momentum and restore home values. 100 MEN 100 HOMES is a model that can be developed as a pilot for a larger scale project to restore the over 100 homes that have been foreclosed in the Austin community since 2008. It is a model that has been developed by Coalition partners taking input from community members who realize that while boarded and vacant homes on their block contribute to community devastation, it is also the devastated citizen who must be re-established in order to effectuate true community restoration.