Northside Neighborhood Center
What we're building
The building at 1552 Kane Street is structurally sound and close to move-in ready. That is unusual for a vacant 1942 building, and it is the reason this project can open in about a year rather than five. Here is what goes in each room.
Main floor
Children's reading room
for the youngest readers, continuing what the library did best for this neighborhood.
Northside history area
rotating displays of the neighborhood's roots and the families who built it. Neighbors can contribute.
Co-working room
affordable desks for people who work from home and would rather not.
Community health and meeting room
health education, financial literacy, and any group that needs a room.
Group flexible meeting space
the largest room, open and reconfigurable.
Flex area, break room, storage
the unglamorous rooms that make the rest work.
Fireplace
And the fireplace in the southwest corner, which was here before any of us and stays.
Lower level
Music room
practice and lessons, in a neighborhood that lost its arts space.
Performance room
recitals, presentations, small events.
Restrooms
including a family and accessible restroom.
Four pillars
Fine arts & performance:
The Boys & Girls Club lost dedicated fine arts space in its 2026 restructuring. This brings it back: music lessons, studio space, somewhere to perform.
Northside history:
Northside residents rarely see their own stories reflected back at them. A historic building deserves historically informed stewardship, and the families here now are part of that story too.
Community wellness:
Working families can't reach preventative health care between nine and five. Health education, financial literacy, and clinics in the evenings and on weekends, in their own neighborhood.
Enrichment & gathering:
A children's reading room, affordable co-working, a community conference room, and open space where neighbors belong rather than transact.
Getting there
The City selected our proposal in August 2026. The development agreement goes to the Common Council this fall, with closing expected before the end of the year. Design and permitting follow, construction begins in early 2027, and we plan to open the doors that spring. Every month of that schedule depends on pledges being in place when they are needed.