Today, two West Side-based organizations were announced as recipients of millions of dollars in grants to go toward new youth-focused developments. The Lawndale Christian Development Corporation (LCDC) and the Erie Neighborhood House will receive $15 million in grants for community centers in North Lawndale and Little Village.
The grants were awarded by the Lohengrin Foundation, a Chicago-based philanthropic organization with a mission to advance equity, opportunity and justice to eradicate systemic barriers. LCDC was awarded $10 million to help develop its One Lawndale Recreation Center. The Erie Neighborhood House was awarded $5 million for its Floreciendo: La Villita Erie House Center in Little Village.
The grants are part of the Thriving Youth, Stronger Communities initiative, created by the Lohngrin Foundation in 2024 to finance new youth centers in Chicago to increase access to safe spaces for youth. The two organizations are the first to receive the grant.
The funds were described as early investments into the projects, to help secure additional funding and “close a significant portion of the capital funding gaps and positioning them to pursue additional funding with momentum from institutional partners,” according to a press release.
With the One Lawndale Recreation Center, LCDC aims to “address a long-standing gap in year-round recreational infrastructure” and bring a first-of-its-kind recreational facility to the area to bridge North Lawndale and Little Village. The recreation center is part of a $57 million capital campaign by LCDC, which also includes a trade school and a small business incubator.
The Floreciendo: La Villita Erie House Center aims to be an intergenerational, youth-focused space that supports families. The 22,000-square-foot space is expected to include a full-sized gym, arts studios, therapy rooms and more. The new center will help the Erie Neighborhood House expand its reach and double the number of residents it already helps and expand its youth programming.
According to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, both North Lawndale and Little Village have larger youth populations than the city as a whole. Youth in North Lawndale also face violence at a higher rate, according to the Chicago Violence Reduction Dashboard.
Creating safe third spaces for Chicago’s youth has been a pressing issue. Last year, Chicago alderman Brian Hopkins (2nd Ward) proposed implementing a snap curfew to curb teen violence. Mayor Brandon Johnson vetoed the proposal last summer, and many opponents of the curfew advocated for creating more spaces for teens to address the issue.
Both the One Lawndale Recreation Center and the La Villita Erie House Center were heralded for incorporating community input into their development and are expected to add over $60 million in new investments on the West Side.
