On January 31, another chapter of the historic Concord Building, 3802 N. Illinois, was completed when Midtown Indy transferred ownership of the property to the Khprew Institute (KI). Acquisition of the structure was funded by a Lilly Endowment Inc. Creating Opportunities Grant Kheprw was awarded to implement its community wealth-building initiative. At the time of its sale, the Concord was home to KI’s Alkhemy incubator/accelerator for entrepreneurs of color which opened in February 2020 and then promptly closed its doors in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nevertheless, KI persevered and delivered training, business coaching and relationship-building sessions to the first cohort of 31 entrepreneurs. KI plans to place the Concord in a soon-to-be-established community land trust to create a community asset under community control. This comes as welcome news after years of neglectful out-of-state ownership. Work is underway to renovate the building’s second floor into KI’s offices and meeting space while the ground floor will serve entrepreneurs. Congratulations to the Kheprw Institute for its vision and tenacity in building cultural capital, financial capital, intellectual capital, and social capital. Stay tuned for the next chapter!
