Three years after Black folk artist Charles Smith’s long-abandoned studio/home was razed by the property’s new owner, the site at 126 S. Kendall St. in Aurora Township remains an eyesore to the neighborhood.
Which was hardly what Ricky Rodgers, executive director of African American Men of Unity, envisioned when his well-known nonprofit, which focuses on mentorship and violence prevention programs, took over the deed in 2017 after paying $30,000 to Kane County for back taxes on the property, most of which, he said, came from his own bank account.
Rodgers’ goal is to preserve some of the scattered art pieces left behind when Smith, a nationally-recognized artist, moved out of state, and to restore this half-acre lot that many believe is a unique piece of Aurora history.
Over the years I’ve chronicled some of the challenges Aurora Township and Kane County have faced with the property when Smith owned it, as well as those Rodgers ran into. For one, the current owner found a surprising amount of reluctance from local and Chicago groups to invest in this restoration project that had become little more than a dilapidated structure on a rubble-filled lot in Aurora Township.
All of which led to ongoing complaints from neighbors and officials frustrated with the property that had become an ugly dumping site.
But Rodgers remained committed. In April of 2021, he put another $25,000 into a demolition project that tore down the old house once known as Smith’s African American Heritage Museum and Vietnam Veterans Archive. The hope was this progress would lessen the complaints and controversy, and garner financial support needed to fulfill his dream.
Rodgers’ goal is to build a community resource center and headquarters for African American Men of Unity that would also have space for a museum to showcase the work of Black artists, most especially Smith’s unique creations, some of which are on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C, with more showcased at The Kohler Foundation in Wisconsin.
With $56,800 from Kane County’s Grand Victoria Riverboat Fund that, according to a 2021 fiscal report, was intended “for partial demolition and rehabilitation of existing facility,” Rodgers began digging out a basement. But since then, the project has again stalled for lack of cash and, in doing so, became an even more dangerous eyesore.
As Aurora Township Supervisor Bill Catching pointed out, there are two apartment buildings nearby that are “full of young kids.” And if a child is injured or, heaven forbid, drowns in the foundation that fills with water after it rains, that becomes a liability for the township as well.
The highway department has “gone in and pumped out water,” said Catching, “but we can’t do that every time it rains.”
Earlier this spring neighborhood complaints led to the township spending $5,000 to enclose the property. The fencing is “not perfect,” Catching noted. “Kids could still potentially get in there if they tried.”
While the township also provided $10,000 to help with back taxes, it turned down requests from Rodgers for major funding for the project, which has gone from the original cost of $580,000 to $1 million because of rising construction costs, he told me.
Rodgers says the project hit its first hurdle early on when it became apparent how badly dilapidated the house really was. Neglected for years, it turned from a renovation project to a tear-down, which also caused a rift between him and Smith, who lives in Louisiana, as well as some of the artist’s most ardent supporters.
Rodgers told me that Kane County approved the design of the roughly 4,000-square-foot project but he hit a huge stumbling block when he was informed in order to get a building permit he must have a detailed plan for bidding, permit and construction. The cost, he estimated, was between $60,000 and $100,000 for the detailed plan.
“We were in the process of digging the basement and had to stop because we could not move forward without more funds to get that done,” he said recently.
Rodgers expressed gratitude for the help of the county and township.
“But that leaves us with a mess,” he said, “because we are not moving forward.”
One official aptly described the county’s history with this property as “long and winding,” going back to 1999 when, under Smith’s ownership, $9,000 in Riverboat funding was used to hire a consultant specializing in folk artists to document the Vietnam vet’s art, as well as develop a concept plan for the museum and art to be viewed.
Around that same time, “spot blight” funds from the county were used to clean up the site and add wood-chipped paths.
According to the Kane County Development Department, its property enforcement team has been working with Rodgers to get the property secured and wants to continue working with him.
Mark VanKerkhoff, director of development and community services, said the county needs to meet with Rodgers “for an update and clarification on what is needed long term, and what needs to be done in the short term to stabilize and make the site safe until the organization has funding to proceed with the project.”
Rodgers remains convinced the dollars will come if he can get past the current obstacle. There is funding available for new construction, he noted, “but none at the stage we are currently in.”
He also admits to being “green” going into the project, unaware of how much it would take to get it over the finish line. While admitting it has certainly caused some “long nights … I don’t mind having a challenge,” Rodgers said, adding that overcoming obstacles has a way of bringing out the best in people.
And the head of African American Men of Unity, which is holding its annual Juneteenth celebration from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Dr. Martin Luther King Park at 42 N. Farnsworth Ave. in Aurora, remains adamant this restored Kendall Street property is exactly what the community needs. Not only is the project a way to honor Black culture, but “to have a resource center there would be a godsend,” he insisted.
“Gang violence is not as active as it once was, but it has not left the city,” Rodgers said, adding that mentorship helps keep it from rearing its ugly head.
This journey, he added, “showed me there are a lot of people who care. But the people who have the money and those who care have to match.”
dcrosby@tribpub.com
