Niles Teen Center move to Milwaukee and Dempster approved by Village Board

Niles trustees unanimously approved a new lease and special use permit last week allowing the Niles Teen Center to move to the 8800 block of Milwaukee Avenue, with officials voicing praise for the center and its role as a positive presence for area youth.

The board approved an ordinance authorizing a five-year lease with an option to extend for five more years between Green Falcon Living Trust, which owns the property, and the village.

Trustees also approved a special use permit for the new space, at 8824 North Milwaukee Avenue.

The village has received a $200,000 grant from U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin’s office (D-Ill.) office to help fund renovations to the space, according to a village press release.

Village spokesperson Mitch Johnson said some of that grant money could help provide transportation to the Teen Center for students from Gemini and Culver Schools.

“The Teen Center will be working with the school districts for the 2023-2024 school year,” he said about the possibility of transportation.

According to documents presented to the board with the special use permit application, the new Teen Center facility “will be remodeled to include a recording studio, two offices, a kitchen area, a stage and more.”

Teen Center Director Mike Trevino said in a statement that he was excited for the future of the center and the possibilities afforded in the new location.

“This centralized new location will allow us to unify the families and students together in Niles and provide a state-of-the-art facility that will grow with us into the future,” he said.

The center will be open weekdays from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. for youth in sixth through twelfth grade, as it is now.

The Teen Center is currently located at the Golf Mill Shopping Center, where its lease expired in September. The Center has leased the space on a month-to-month basis since then, according to village documents.

Trustees and members of the public praised the work of the center in giving young people from Niles and surrounding communities a positive space to spend their free time and meet their peers.

Dominic Henry, of Niles, said his son attends Teen Center programming regularly and has learned important social skills through his time there.

“This is something Niles has that a lot of other communities don’t,” Henry said.

Greta Kwon of Park Ridge told the board she’s been involved with the Teen Center for about a year and supports the move to Milwaukee Avenue because of the closer proximity to schools.

Multiple parents from the area also spoke about how the center had given their adolescent children a way to connect with other young people and a safe space to spend their free time.

Trustees also queued to express their support for the center, citing its impact on their own relatives and its role within the Niles community.

Trustee Craig Niedermaier said people opt to live in Niles for many reasons, but he hears “the passion come through with places like the Teen Center… it’s more about the feeling and less about the function.”

Trustee Danette Matyas echoed Niedermaier’s sentiment: “The Teen Center is a great thing,” she said. “It keeps the kids engaged, it keeps them excited.”

The center serves about 440 young people each month, village spokesperson Mitch Johnson told Pioneer Press, adding that 760 teens have attended special events over the last eight months. Those have included Emerson School Glow in the Dark Dodgeball, the Spring Dance, Niles Teen Center at the Park and Gemini Fall Dance, he added.

Other recent events at the Teen Center have included “Fitness Friday,” board game and sports tournaments and less structured socializing events, according to its social media.

According to a village announcement, the relocation of the Teen Center will begin in May. .