AustinTalks (http://austintalks.org/tag/austin-coming-together/)
A project to revitalize Central Avenue from Madison Street to Chicago Avenue is starting its first steps in the planning process. Austin Coming Together is leading the charge to revitalize one of Austin’s major thoroughfares.
The Westside Health Authority and Austin Coming Together, joined by Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Planning Department Commissioner Maurice Cox, will break ground on the new $40 million ASPIRE Center for Workforce Innovation. It will be located in the former Emmett Elementary School at 5500 W. Madison St., which was closed under Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration.
Boxes of food are being delivered to the homes of dozens of Austin residents with disabilities through the new program, a partnership between Circle Urban Ministries, the city of Chicago, the Vivery Idea Lab and others.
Four community projects worth a total of $100 million will be opening over the next few years in Austin. The projects were celebrated at the annual summit of Austin Coming Together held last weekend.
The Aspire Center for Workforce Innovation will open next year and provide free services in career development. The center will be on the former site of Emmet School, 5500 W. Madison St., which former Mayor Rahm Emanuel closed in 2013.
All residents are invited to Austin Forward Together’s community summit, which will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at By The Hand Club For Kids, 415 N. Laramie.
City officials and community leaders will take part in Saturday’s ribbon-cutting at the site of the former Emmett Elementary School, in the 5500 block of West Madison Street.
Stop by the Kehrein Center for the Arts, Austin Community Family Center, Fraternite Notre Dame, Austin branch library and Christ the King Jesuit College Preparatory School. The free event will be held Oct. 15-16.
The free event, organized by the Austin Eats collaborative, will feature food, films and a panel discussion. It will be held Friday from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at By the Hand Club for Kids, 415 N. Laramie.
Work on the art deco building will begin in November. The cost of the project, which will feature 78 units of housing, has gone up due to inflation. The $45 million development is part of Mayor Lightfoot’s Invest South/West initiative.