HUMBOLDT PARK — A home health company has shared more details on its proposal for a new health care and workforce development training center at a vacant Humboldt Park lot.

ASI Health is looking to build a five-story facility at 3446 W. North Ave., a lot that’s been vacant for over a decade. The building would include health care services, a training institute and a workforce center, according to updated project plans shared by Ald. Jessie Fuentes’ 26th Ward office.

The $12 million proposal, which has been in the works since 2022 and now has a potential location, would offer senior care, including rehab and behavioral health services. ASI’s workforce development center would open the door for youth and others with employment barriers to access bilingual and multicultural training for high-demand jobs in health care, tech and the green sectors, according to project plans.

The organization plans to partner with local colleges and Latino-led health care providers on the programs, Marta Cerda, CEO of ASI Health, previously said. The facility will enable ASI Health to train about 15,000 home health professionals annually, she said.

The building would also house ASI Health’s administrative offices, essentially serving as the organization’s new headquarters, as well as a memory care center for patients suffering from diseases like Alzheimer’s, Cerda said. The organization employs 350 people.

ASI Health has provided home care services plus employment and training programs since 1975, with a focus on Latino and Black communities. The company, headquartered in Avondale, is looking to invest in Humboldt Park with a “whole person care” model that links health and workforce outcomes, Cerda said.

“Our proposal for a new Health and Workforce Development Center aims to bring together health care, behavioral health, job training and community support under one roof —creating a one-stop hub designed to help residents get well and stay healthy, build skills, and access economic opportunity close to home,” Cerda said in a statement this week.

ASI Health has identified 3446 W. North Ave. for its 5-story workforce and health care center, which has been a project in the works since 2022. Credit: UrbanWorks

Fuentes held a community meeting on the proposal last month, and resident feedback was favorable, according to the alderperson’s office.

The proposal needs a zoning change, something Fuentes would need to approve before the project advances through the City Council. Fuentes has not officially signaled her support for the project but spoke positively of it in a statement.

“The project aims to expand access to workforce training, community health resources and much more,” Fuentes said in a statement. “ASI is committed to thoughtfully incorporating all community feedback shared during the meeting, particularly around parking solutions and maximizing access to other transportation options such as public transit, bike storage and walkability improvements.”

Its city approval timeline is tentative, though it could appear on the City Council’s zoning committee agenda in January or February at the earliest, per the 26th Ward Office.

ASI is working with the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, Humboldt Park Health, Illinois Unidos and the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce to make sure the facility is one the neighborhood “can be proud of,” Cerda said.

If approved, the project would strengthen ASI Health’s years-long partnership with Humboldt Park Health, Cerda previously said. The two organizations have worked in tandem to treat patients in Humboldt Park for years, including during the pandemic.

ASI Health was looking to build the facility on one of the many Humboldt Park Health-owned lots in the area. The lot chosen for the development is owned by Luis Castro of L&MC Investments, according to property records. ASI Health is in the final stages of buying the land, a company spokesperson said.

The health and workforce development building’s proposed size and style is in line with newer, health-related buildings opening in the area. Humboldt Park Health’s three-story gym and wellness center opened at the beginning of the year.

La Casa Norte’s five-story facility at 3533 W. North Ave. opened in 2019 and offers everything from a market to a medical clinic.

A PrimeCare Health proposal to move and expand to an old manufacturing building at 1750 N. Springfield Ave. in Humboldt Park was rejected by Fuentes this year after a series of neighbor complaints, including parking and traffic congestion. The alderperson said she’s still committed to finding the company a new home in the area.

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