Relocated Nonprofit Opens Doors to Community

Lincoln Square and Ravenswood is getting a new neighbor as the Albany Park Community Center moves its headquarters to Damen and Wilson on Friday. 

The center, previously at Kimball and Lawrence avenues, is a nonprofit that specializes in community development. It offers preschool and Head Start programs, as well as adult literacy, housing and veteran assistance.

“We had met capacity for staff and want to add more people,” said Andy Nordstrom, the chief development officer.  

With the entire third floor at 1945 W. Wilson Ave., the Albany Park Community Center will have enough room to expand its staff and host classes, Nordstrom said.

The old location was, “truly nonprofit looking,” he said, because staff was split between two floors and separated by a stairwell.

“This is a social business,” Nordstrom said. “Our people need to talk to each other during the day.”

About 70 of the 200-person staff will move to the new offices on Friday and be fully functioning on Dec. 26.

With a computer room and training facility, Nordstrom hopes to share its resources with the community for CAPS and neighborhood meetings.

“Coming from a neighborhood feel, I can tell this is another neighborhood,” he said. “I’m excited to see what happens to this corner as Lycée (French school) comes in.” 

Aside from the amenities, the center will be paying $3.50 less per square foot, and gain 3,000 square feet in space.

When staff and volunteers got a sneak peak of the new space, they were blown away, Nordstrom said. The space had to be completely rehabbed after sitting empty for years. With donations of office equipment, the staff will move into cubicles with spacious desks.

Over the past four years, the center’s grown and reorganized to depend less on government funding. Nordstrom said the positive changes stem from the new CEO, Harold Rice. Rice is working to transition the center to a citywide resource. 

The community center helps place some of the 76,000 Illinois veterans back into civilian life. This mainly includes helping them find jobs, training them on interview skills and how to tailor a resume. 

In 2013, the center hopes to improve that employment program, Nordstrom said. Staff will identify what specific corporations require of employees and train people according to those standards. 

The goal is to have people in jobs for more than 90 days, Nordstrom said. 

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Kids from the center introduced themselves to the neighborhood in October with a Thriller-themed flash mob dance.