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🏗️ Latino Center will replace vacant O'Reilly building

The vacant auto parts shop will be demolished mid-April, with new construction planned for next summer.

Longfellow Whatever
— 3 min read
🏗️ Latino Center will replace vacant O'Reilly building
Rendering of the Latino Center for Community Engagement, looking south down 29th Avenue with Lake Street in the foreground | COPAL

Fundraising is underway to replace the vacant O'Reilly Auto Parts shop on 29th and Lake with a multipurpose Latine-focused community center.

The nonprofit group COPAL (Comunidades Organizando el Poder y la Acción Latina) has already secured the money to buy and tear down the building, which an out-of-state landlord has kept empty since it was damaged during the 2020 unrest. Demolition begins April 15 and COPAL hopes to raise the next round of funds for construction by next summer.

As designed, the Latino Center for Community Engagement will combine the group's walk-in service center, offices, and community spaces. Among the planned uses:

  • Coffee shop: A public-facing shop staffed by bilingual baristas will leverage the group's relationships with Latin American coffee growers
  • Soccer field: A smaller-than-regulation soccer field will face the sidewalk and be available for community use, ringed by pollinator gardens