New Austin HOPE Center set to expand access to pediatric specialty care on Chicago’s West Side
New Austin HOPE Center brings pediatric specialty care to Chicago's West Side
A long-vacant lot in Austin is being transformed into a new hub for pediatric healthcare, mental health services, and community support as the Austin HOPE Center prepares to open later this summer.
CHICAGO - A place of healing, connection and hope is rising on what was once a vacant lot on Chicago’s West Side.
The brand-new Austin HOPE Center is set to open later this summer — making pediatric specialty care and community resources more accessible.
As part of FOX Chicago's continued coverage of Lurie Children's Week, Kasey Chronis takes us inside the project.
What we know:
In just three months, the sounds of construction will give way to something bright as the Austin HOPE Center welcomes its first families.
"We started community meetings about this building probably five years ago," said Lurie Children's Chief of Community Health Mary Kate Daly.
For many West Side residents, accessing specialized pediatric care has often meant long drives and limited options. Now, Lurie Children’s is bringing those services closer to home.
"This was designed with the community in mind," said Pastor Contrell Jenkins with Lively Stone Missionary Baptist Church.
The multi-million-dollar investment aims to help close a long-standing healthcare gap, while restoring something many community members say has been missing for far too long: Hope.
"They deserve this quality, they deserve this investment, they deserve this opportunity," Jenkins said.
It all started with a vision from Pastor Contrell Jenkins.
What was a vacant corner last June is now a three-story, 25,000-square-foot building at Chicago and Lawler avenues.
"I've been feeling very excited and I've been feeling and very grateful," Jenkins said. "Those words describe the feeling as I see this, as I walk by here, run by here, drive by here every day — is building so much hope."
The Austin HOPE Center is co-owned by Jenkins' nonprofit, Stone Community Development Corporation, and Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives, which focuses on revitalizing disinvested neighborhoods across the city.
Lurie Children's will serve as the building's anchor tenant.
"Every time I come, it becomes so much more real," Daly said.
Local nonprofit Thresholds — a lifeline for people experiencing homelessness, mental health challenges, and substance use disorders — will also operate at the Austin HOPE Center. Wintrust Bank will have space there as well, helping to strengthen financial wellness in the community.
Now, the plans that once lived on paper are nearly complete.
"It's the greatest feeling in the world because for this project, we started with just an empty lot and now it's going to be a huge part of the community," said Glen Knowles, who works for UJAMAA Construction.
For UJAMAA Project Manager Glen Knowles, it’s been a labor of love overseeing the transformation.
"It's going to be a pivotal part of the community," Knowles said. "We are about 70% complete with the project."
Next up: Flooring, ceiling tiles, cabinetry, and the final finishes.
Dig deeper:
When the ribbon is cut later this summer, visitors will experience a space built for both healing and togetherness.
The first floor will feature a community room along with a teen lounge designed for connection.
Upstairs, Lurie Children’s clinical spaces will expand access to specialty care for area families.
"The services we will be providing here include things like asthma, adolescent medicine, weight and wellness, preventive cardiology, GI, and nephrology. We also heard that it's very challenging for families that are living in our disinvested communities to access developmental and behavioral pediatrics or autism care," Daly said.
Next to the general waiting room, there will be a sensory room for kids visiting the Autism Clinic.
Mental healthcare will also be a key focus at the Austin HOPE Center — a need Jenkins says grew louder during the pandemic.
"It became bigger than me, and that's what put me on the journey to look for professional help to come in, to bring services that could do what I couldn't do spiritually," Jenkins said.
The psychiatric care provided will be tailored to meet families where they are.
"We intend for it to be trauma-informed and very collaborative within the community," said Dr. Roxanna De La Torre, attending physician & child and adolescent psychiatrist with Lurie Children's. "What that looks like for us is providing not only great care, but exceptional care — and ensuring that it’s evidence-based, culturally responsive, and really grounded in dignity for our future patients here."
De La Torre will serve as the attending physician in the Psychiatry & Behavioral Health Department at the Austin HOPE Center.
Psychiatry & Behavioral Health Services will include:
- Individual Therapy
- Group Therapy
- Medication Management
"I hope they feel how much we care about the work that we're providing and what a privilege it is to serve the community here," De La Torre said.
Partners say the community's voice will remain central to the center's mission.
"As clinicians, the work we do on a day-to-day basis is inherently meaningful, but what makes the work here even more profoundly meaningful is that it is coming as a direct response to the voices of the community," De La Torre said.
Last year, Lurie Children's hosted a series of town halls with community stakeholders and teens.
"They shared with us what was hard, what was missing, and what they couldn't access. This was born as a response to that, and their voices really continue to guide and shape what is happening here and continue to ground what's here," De La Torre said.
Daly says all are welcome to experience the pediatric care Lurie Children's has to offer at the Austin HOPE Center.
"In addition to really being rooted and serving the community here, we hope that this also brings people from around the city and beyond to this wonderful neighborhood to see everything happening and all the vibrancy here in Austin," Daly added.
It is a space built for the community — and shaped by it too.
"There's a sense of ownership that they would have. There's a sense of pride they would have, that they could say, 'We did this,'" Jenkins said.
What's next:
Construction remains on track for completion in August.
As the grand opening approaches later this summer, families interested in receiving care at the Austin HOPE Center will be able to schedule appointments.
The Source: Fox Chicago's Kasey Chronis interviewed stakeholders from Lurie Children's, UJAMAA Construction, leaders at the Austin HOPE Center and Pastor Contrell Jenkins with Lively Stone Missionary Baptist Church.