WICKER PARK — A building on North Avenue has been purchased by the Jewish Council for Youth Services for a "family center," it was announced Friday.
The 9,600-square-foot brick and timber structure at 2129 W. North Ave. had a price tag of $1.9 million, according to a LoopNet.com listing, though financial terms were not disclosed on the sale of the building.
Currently the property — located one block west of the bustling Milwaukee-Damen-North avenues intersection — is home to Shure, a manufacturer of educational childrens toys and puzzles.
Representatives from Shure declined to comment on the sale.
“For more than five years, we have been searching for the right location to satisfy our requirements. It was a challenge finding the ideal property best suited to helping JCYS satisfy its mission,” Jason Malkin, acting executive director of JCYS, said in a statement.
A new JCYS Michael R. Lutz Family Center is targeted to open in the fall of 2015, Malkin said in the statement, issued by realtors Cresa Chicago and Baum Realty Group, which handled the sale.
The new center will offer "educational, recreational, and leadership experiences" for young people ranging from infants to teenagers.
The Council, founded in 1907, has family center locations at 957 W. Grace, as well as in suburban Buffalo Grove and Highland Park.
The non-profit Council, "embracing Jewish values and culture, provides educational and recreational programs that nurture individual growth and promote responsibility to others," according to its mission statement.
The group said it is "evaluating a variety of plans to potentially renovate and remodel the space."
In addition to the building, which has an apartment on its second floor, the sale also included the acquisition of an adjacent 3,150 square-foot side lot.
