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Ox Wellness Collective reopens renovated space with eight Black-owned businesses; committee urges outreach
Summary
Developers described the Ox Wellness Collective as an $11 million rehabilitation of an abandoned warehouse housing eight Black-owned businesses providing wellness, laundry, hair care and mental health services. Committee members and public commenters urged broader outreach and noted banking-partner questions.
Tiffany Holmes, a co-developer and owner of the Ox Wellness Collective, told the Evanston Reparations Committee that the project transformed an abandoned warehouse into a community wellness hub at an $11,000,000 cost.
"This is a 5 year labor of love," Holmes said. "The Ox is now an $11,000,000 project that has taken an abandoned warehouse and completely gutted it and rehabbed it into the space that you see today. There are 8 Black-owned businesses currently in this space." Holmes listed tenants and services including a cafe, laundry services to help mitigate absenteeism in schools, scalp and skin care services, group fitness classes, personal training and a mental-health therapist on site.
Committee leaders said the Ox is an example of a collective benefit that could align with reparations goals. Chair Tashie Kerr called it "an example of what a collective benefit for reparations could look like," and encouraged residents to visit and support the businesses.
Members of the public asked how the Ox would get wider public awareness and raised questions about banking partnerships. One commenter asked why Wintrust (referred to in the meeting as Winchester/Wintrust) was a partner on site rather than Liberty Bank and whether Liberty Bank planned a satellite in Evanston. Kerr said she would invite Wendy (a bank representative mentioned by a commenter) to a future meeting so the committee could receive a report on any partnership or satellite-location plans.
Another public question asked about ownership and whether the Ox (referred to in the meeting as "the Ox" or "the aux") remained owned by a non-Black individual; the committee said questions about ownership and tenants should be directed to the Ox's operators. "Any questions that you have about their operations or ownership or tenants, will have to be directed to the Ox. And I'm sure they will be excited to respond to you," Kerr said.
Holmes said the space is intended to be welcoming and to help residents "come and heal," and that efforts to publicize the Ox would continue. "This is a space that we want the community to come and heal community also," she said.
No formal committee action was taken on the project; the presentation served as a community update and a prompt for follow-up reporting and outreach.
