Community space South Side Sanctuary opens in 'heart' of Bronzeville

Community members shopped and enjoyed a performance on Tuesday from members of the King College Prep Marching Band as they helped celebrate a new community space in Bronzeville — a site that replaces a long-vacant city lot.

The space at 4702 S. Martin Luther King Drive was empty for 20 years but has now become the South Side Sanctuary, a community gathering space that's open to the public.

The 13,000-square-foot plaza has green space, a performance stage and room to host artists or farmers markets and outdoor classes, among other activities. The South Side Sanctuary will also be available to rent for private parties and events.

South Side Sanctuary was founded and developed by Cecilia Cuff, co-owner of Bronzeville Winery, and Jasmine Anwuli Michaels, an integrative wellness practitioner and CEO of Chicago-based Oases.

Cuff, who also founded the strategic business development firm Nascent Group, said boosting economic activity is a key part of any project she does, but the idea for the sanctuary was “changing the narrative.”

“Bronzeville Winery — people would come in to visit from all over and when they went back to their homes, they would tell somebody else to spread that word,” Cuff said. “I wanted to have that same thing here, but I think that inspired … thinking more deeply into the arts and culture, into the music, into so many different aspects.”

Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd) said the intersection where the sanctuary sits is Bronzeville's heart, helping to bring the area's culture to the forefront. It's steps from the popular restaurants Peach's and Bronzeville Soul as well as the Harold Washington Cultural Center.

Dowell initially thought the corner lot was ideal for a brick-and-mortar retail building, “but that’s not always the best way,” she said at the plaza's ribbon cutting.

“Sometimes you have to rejuvenate the heart of the community, the spirit of the community, the passion that the community has for this area,” she said.

South Side Sanctuary was a three-year project that supported more than 35 jobs, as well as internships and workforce development opportunities.

When developing the space, the sanctuary team considered four pillars that drive economic activity: arts and culture; innovative wellness; entrepreneurship and innovation; and sports and recreation.

Those pillars are reflected in the programming that will take place at South Side Sanctuary such as outdoor yoga, farmers markets, skill-based training, dance performances and running clubs.

The sanctuary was supported by a $712,000 Public Outdoor Plaza grant from Chicago’s Department of Planning and Development. The grant program, launched in 2022, helps community-based organizations activate under-utilized land along retail corridors.

Mayor Brandon Johnson said Tuesday those outdoor plazas have the power to “unite and uplift communities,” citing 10 other similiar spaces that launched through the program. Bronzeville's sanctuary space is the last of the projects under the grant.

“By bringing neighbors together in this space, we will spur foot traffic for local businesses, support our young people and we will create safer communities,” Johnson said. “I look forward to seeing the benefits of this space serve the people of Bronzeville.”

Johnson pointed to the sanctuary and the new Damen Green Line station as two transformations giving him the "confidence that we are on the right path to reverse our city's history of disinvesting in our neighborhoods.” The Green Line is the only L line that serves both the South and West sides.

“I am thrilled about this Bronzeville [plaza] because it's bigger than just a safe space,” Johnson said. “It's a down payment and a sign and an indication that we are moving in a transformational direction.”

Department of Planning and Development Commissioner Ciere Boatright said it’s “absolutely thrilling” to see the space activated after years of redevelopment proposals that never stuck. The city acquired the site in 1998 with the goal of redeveloping it.

Cuff said her team plans to measure the economic and safety impact of the sanctuary, aiming for the kind of incluence that Bronzeville Winery has generated for the area. She said the restaurant has created about $500,000 in economic activity for Bronzeville.

“We want to use this as a third space, or a space that creates catalytic impacts on the businesses that are in this local area,” Cuff said.