The historic Austin Bank of Chicago building at 5645 W. Corcoran Place has been repurposed into a vibrant community space by Alt Space Chicago, an arts-focused nonprofit dedicated to serving the city’s Black communities.
This transformation aims to combat the negative perceptions of Austin, a neighborhood grappling with high crime rates and disinvestment.
Co-founder Jordan Campbell expressed the organization’s commitment to fostering creativity and a sense of faith among local residents as they celebrate their grand opening.
“This is a vessel for the community,” Campbell stated. “This is something that’s meant to be shared, and that’s something I’m really aiming to continue to honor.”
After several years of searching for a permanent home, Alt Space acquired the building from Catholic Charities last year.
Catholic Charities had previously purchased it from Austin Bank of Chicago, having opened the Chicago Father Augustus Tolton Peace Center at the site in 2017.
Founded in 2019 by Campbell and his late partner Jon Veal, Alt Space aims to provide collaborative spaces for community revitalization and sustainable creativity.
The grand opening event highlighted their new location with various activities, including a gallery, the screening of the film “Single-Use Planet” as part of the One Earth film festival, a local business market, community volunteering efforts, and a church service.
This opening marks one of the organization’s most significant projects to date, following previous initiatives like “Project Stamp,” which showcased photographs of people in the Austin community.
The organization has also held multiple community markets to support local businesses.
Looking ahead, Alt Space plans to host the House Collective, an initiative comprising five nonprofits and ten artists-in-residence, each with a unique mission focused on serving the community.
The space is offered at a minimal cost to these organizations, allowing them to redirect their resources towards providing essential services for free.
Among the participating groups is the Root2Fruit Youth Foundation, a youth violence diversion program that has collaborated with Alt Space since 2021.
Founded in 2009 by Aisha Oliver in her parents’ living room, Root2Fruit works with youth starting in third grade to steer them away from paths of violence.
With Alt Space now serving as their first permanent location, Oliver expressed how this opportunity aligns perfectly with their mission.
“We always had a rotation of places where we could meet, so this is, truly to me, aligned,” Oliver said. “It is so much more than just the programs [we offer]. It’s having a safe place.”
Through the Root2Fruit program, children and teenagers have established a “safe zone” in the neighborhood — an eight-block area that they can turn to when seeking comfort and safety.
This safe zone encompasses parks, schools, the library, and of course, Alt Space.
Root2Fruit emphasizes self-determination and independence, values that have been amplified through their partnership with Alt Space.
Oliver noted, “They are more likely to really be a part of these things, because they created it, they own it.”
The programming encourages the youth to take charge of their creations, highlighting the potential within themselves to foster these spaces.
By supporting these often-overlooked initiatives, Alt Space equips the youth with the tools to realize and cultivate their own community vision.
image source from：https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/2025/04/28/arts-nonprofit-opens-vessel-for-community-engagement-in-old-austin-bank-building
