In late April, city workers were busy laying down sidewalks and beginning installation of a new traffic signal at the corner of Halsted and Waveland, site of Chicago’s new LGBT community center. The Center on Halsted (COH) is just down the road (literally) from Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs. The city decided at the eleventh hour to install the traffic signal, no doubt in anticipation of the rise in pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic sure to take place over the coming months.

Chicago is one of the last cities in the U.S. to construct its own LGBT center, but it was well worth the wait. In the words of incoming executive director Modesto “Tico” Valle, who was appointed in April after previous director Robbin Burr announced her departure in January, “I don’t think we would have been able to build this 10 years ago. It took a long time, but I think we did it right.”

The project was launched almost five years ago, but even prior to that there were a couple of false starts, according to Valle, beginning with the Rodde Center. “Historically there were a number of people who had a vision for a community center that for whatever reason never came to be.” Then about six years ago Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley contacted Patrick Sheahan, who currently serves on the Center’s Board of Directors, and asked if they were still looking for a piece of property for a community center. The Mayor had identified a Park District field house on Halsted Street, and the conversations began.

“At that time we didn’t have the money, but there was a vision, there was a hope, and there was a dream. Immediately there was a committee formed to discuss, and to begin focus groups with the community to see if they wanted this center— and if so, what it would be.”

The result is a 60,000 square foot “green” building—a state-of-the-art facility in the heart of the Boystown neighborhood—with elements such as an electric heating and cooling system which adjusts for body temperature and helps to conserve energy; a rainwater collection system used to flush the toilets; and recycled building materials and a design specifically chosen to be environmentally friendly (they are going for a LEED certification of “silver”).

Whole Foods Market, opening in July, occupies most of the space on the first level, and has a separate entrance from the Center (the lease agreement will help perpetuate and fund the Center’s programs). The lobby of the Center will house a Whole Foods Café and will have free wireless Internet access, and an underground parking garage lies beneath the entire complex.

On the second level is a senior center, computer technology center with Internet access, youth drop-in center, and office space as well as numerous meeting rooms with built-in plasma TV’s.

Finally, on the third level you’ll find a 161-seat theatre, a full-size gymnasium, lockers, and to top it all off a landscaped, rooftop garden with accompanying party function space.

The building abounds with natural light, and is indeed a sight to behold, but even Valle admits that none of that means anything without effective programming. Says Valle, “It’s the people inside that ultimately count—it’s all the rich programs that will make this place alive.”

The Center actually began as Horizons Community Services in 1979. Historically, Horizons was focused on addressing the needs of LGBT youth in Chicago. The legacy of Horizons will continue at the Center as the Horizons Youth Program. While previous focus for the youth program has been mostly on HIV and harm reduction, the mission and scope have been broadened to include vocational and job readiness, leadership development, the arts, wellness, and athletics. “Twenty percent of our youth [at the Center] are homeless, and it’s very important that we respond by giving them the tools to be able to compete in society,” Valle said.

Many of the services provided fall under the category of mental health. The Anti-Violence program has therapists who work with victims of domestic violence, and conducts trainings for professionals around LGBT issues. There is individual one-on-one therapy, available free to those with HIV and to all others on a sliding scale. There are a number of support groups, including the Poz 20’s group created specifically for HIV-positive men between the ages of 24 and 30—and the group is growing.

SAGE (Senior Action in a Gay Environment) is the newest program, although throughout the years it’s taken on several different forms at Horizons. SAGE is a national organization which links a number of groups across the country. “It will deal with the social, wellness, and spiritual components of our senior and aging population—an age bracket we’re all heading towards,” remarks Valle.

SOGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Institute) is “directed towards graduate and Ph.D. students going into the LGBT field—it’s one of a kind, where individuals can come here and get hands-on training.”

The Illinois AIDS, HIV & STD Hotline is a bilingual hotline (English/Spanish) which is housed at the Center and funded by the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH).

The Community and Cultural Program includes family programming, a financial series, a legal program, and an art track which will feature artists’ exhibits in the building, as well as partnerships with local museums such as the National Museum of Mexican Art, the DuSable Museum of African American History, and the Chicago Historical Society, which will bring high quality, artistic programming to the Center.

Finally, there are about 10 to 15 organizations—or community partners—that will be housed within the Center or use it to hold their meetings. There are groups such as ALMA (Association for Latino Men in Action), Amigas Latina, and the Rainbow Deaf Alliance. These groups and programs will “bring a lot to the Center,” says Valle. “We cannot be everything for everyone, but what we can do is bring people together.”

This spirit of collaboration and cooperation is essential to the Center’s success. The Center collaborated with Test Positive Aware Network (TPAN) earlier this year on the Illinois HIV Services Directory, which is published by TPAN. TPAN’s ManAlive, a one-day Midwest gay men’s health summit (now in its fourth year), is scheduled to take place at the Center on November 3rd of this year.

“It’s important to know that the Center can’t just be on Halsted and Waveland, we have to be more than that. It means we have to build the bridges to make sure we’re serving on the West, South and North [sides of Chicago], and that we’re going to communities, and the communities are not always coming to us, and that we’re building those bridges supporting the wider, broader community.”

Currently the Center provides free HIV testing for its youth, and they recently received a grant from IDPH to begin work in the coming months to provide testing on an ongoing basis. Other examples of HIV-specific services and programming include forums which will target professionals in the field, on topics such as women and HIV, HIV and crystal meth, and minorities and advocacy. The first of these will take place during the month of June in partnership with the AIDS Foundation of Chicago.

I pointed out to Valle that Chicago is one of the last major cities to get its own Center, and asked him why he thought that is. “Yeah, you know I think it took Chicago a long time. I find Chicago to be cautious and conservative, but when we decide to do something we’re going to do it right, and big—and [do the] research.

“When you look at when HIV and AIDS hit in the ‘80’s, Chicago probably had the most comprehensive infrastructure supporting people with HIV and AIDS than any other city. We took care of our own. Could we have built this community center five, 10 years ago? No. It was meant to be now, and it took lots and lots of planning, and lots of money, and a lot of volunteers to make it happen—and I think it was worth the wait.” To learn more about the Center on Halsted or to volunteer, call (773) 472-6469, or visit www.centeronhalsted.org. You can also stop by for a tour at 3656 N. Halsted Street. Call the Illinois AIDS, HIV & STD Hotline toll free at 1-800-243-2437, open daily from 8 a.m.–10 p.m. Call the LGBT Violence Hotline at (773) 871-2273, open 24 hours a day. For more information about ManAlive, visit www.tpan.com.