The
Central Area Neighborhood Development Organization (CANDO) will soon settle in to a new home at 38th and Chicago.
The organization was previously located in the nearby
Sabathani Community Center, according to Eric Weiss, the president of CANDO’s board.
“We wanted a street presence where passersby could find us and we could be more accessible,” to do more community outreach, he says. In scoping out other possible locations, “We wanted to stay within the boundaries of the neighborhood, within our budget, into a place that was move-in ready,” he says.
That’s when the group started looking at a space in the vintage brick complex that includes
Blue Ox Coffee Company, The Third Place Gallery,
Covet Consign and Design and
Fox Egg Gallery. Mike Stebnitz, who owns the complex, is a CANDO board member, though he stayed out of the group’s decision-making on this matter, Weiss says.
In recent years, the neighborhood group has invested a lot of money and energy in the 38th and Chicago intersection. That made the space especially appealing. “We’re excited about the improvements and the new businesses there and we thought we could be a part of it,” he says. “We want to build on the momentum.”
It’s the first time the space has had a tenant since the 1980s. “It’s great to have that space filled. It completes the strip,” Weiss says.
White walls, original hardwood floors, exposed beams, and spacious windows that can open up characterize the place. “We hope to have it free-flowing and open,” he says. The space has plenty of room for rearranging tables and chairs for various community events, a commercial kitchenette, a reception area, plus room for administrative functions. In the future, another small nonprofit organization could join CANDO in the space, he says.
The group is billing the place as more of a community hub than an office, with free wifi access, a computer station, a resource library, art gallery and more.
Right now, construction in the space is wrapping up, while CANDO plans to hold an open house at its new location on May 18.
Source: Eric Weiss, president, Central Area Neighborhood Development Organization board
Writer: Anna Pratt