CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A South Side pastor said he plans to spend three months on top of a roof again, this time to raise money to build something instead of to tear something down.
Ten years ago, New Beginnings Church Pastor Corey Brooks spent 94 days on the roof of a motel where crimes were being committed on 66th Street and King Drive. He raised enough money to buy the motel and have it demolished.
Now, he wants to put a 90,000-square foot community center on that same piece of property. His goal is to raise $30 million.
“Where that old motel was, that’s where we’re going to do some opportunity building,” Brooks told WBBM Newsradio.
On Saturday afternoon, after his church feeds 5,000 people, the pastor said he will head up onto the top of storage containers where he will live for 100 days, until Feb. 28. He said the storage containers are being painted to look like the community center he envisions.
“The community center is over 90,000 square feet. It’s a trade school where we’re going to be teaching construction, carpentry, electrical, plumbing, all of those things,” he said.
Also part of the plans is to have classroom, a way for would-be entrepreneurs to learning how to get businesses off the ground, and four restaurants, one of which will be vegan and will be used to teach culinary arts classes.
Brooks also envisioned swimming pools, music studios, dance studios, a workout facility and, “a great, awesome theater.”
A couple of hundred jobs are expected to be available at the center once it would be built.
Brooks said he has already received $50,000 for the project and the fundraiser hasn’t even officially begun. Most of it has come from a CEO in California.
“We’ve issued out a challenge to CEOs to help us from around the city and then we’ve asked them to give us the names of five CEOs to reach out to, as well,” he said.
Related
