North Austin Community Center

Long a vacant lot, but soon a center for community gatherings, sports, education and fellowship, construction is underway on the North Austin Community Center (NACC), a $31 million project, sponsored By the Hand Club, that will that will yield new opportunities for youth and adults in this west side community.

Modeled after the Pullman Community Center, which was also developed by CNI when completed, the new 152,000 square foot, state-of-the-art recreational and educational facility and 10-acre campus will proide educational  programs, athletic opportunities, and wellness services for people of all ages.  

The NACC will feature a clubhouse offering academic assistance, technology instruction, tutoring and mentorships for young people from neighborhood schools. Outdoors, thanks in part to the City of Chicago who sold the land and a grant from the State of IL, the new center’s campus will include athletic fields and courts designed to accommodate 25,000 participants, annually. The campus will also include the city’s only indoor FIFA-regulation turf arena which will host weekly free community soccer programs and a baseball academy offering training and instruction at the new center.  

Outside, there will be fields and courts expected to serve at least 25,000 participants each year. This last plot of land sold by the city will eventually become the project’s largest outdoor athletic pitch.