Mayor Rahm Emanuel speaks at a press conference announcing the first independent facility for After School Matters. View Full Caption DNAinfo/Joe Ward

BELMONT CRAGIN — Hoping to recreate its successes in more of a neighborhood setting, local nonprofit After School Matters announced Wednesday the group will open its first teen center in Belmont Cragin.

After School Matters is one of Chicago's largest youth programs, providing high school-age kids with programming and jobs during after-school hours and in the summer. Though the group has never owned its own building, its reach has grown rapidly, serving 15,000 students last year alone.

But about 40,000 students applied to the After School Matters programs, said Mary Ellen Caron, the group's CEO, showing that the need remains great.

In an effort to serve more students, the group said Friday that a donation has allowed them to open up the center in Belmont Cragin, at 3435 N. Cicero Ave.

It is the first site that After School Matters has owned outright, she said. Most of its programming is offered through partnerships with the Chicago Park District, Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Public Library.

"We are happy to be here in Belmont Cragin," Caron said at the announcement ceremony outside the new facility Wednesday. "For the first time in our organization's history, we have an opportunity to own a space and build a world-class neighborhood facility dedicated to teenagers."

The building was donated by the Lutz Family Foundation and will be ready for use by After School Matters in the fall, the group said. A community meeting to discuss programming plans will be scheduled within the next month, the group said in a news release.

Having a space where teens can learn and think about their futures will go a long way to uplifting Chicago's youth, said Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Emanuel said he knows this from experience: Studying ballet in his off hours taught him a lot about work ethic and his own strengths, he said.

"It was the opportunity to discover things about myself that served me through my life," Emanuel said at the ceremony. "They learn about themselves. Futures will be created."

There is huge demand for such programs, Emanuel said. He said his administration has helped offer 26,000 summer jobs to Chicago teenagers last year, but that 64,000 applied for such jobs.

After School Matters is hoping it can help. Enrolling teens in their programs helps steer teens in the right direction, said Adrienne Scherenzel-Curry, chief program officer with After School Matters.

"It shows they have value, that they matter," she said. "This building will provide more young people with this experience."

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