A New Southside Hub For Female Business Owners

1107 W. Oklahoma Ave. in January 2023. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

A vacant, city-owned building once targeted to be a home for a Latina-owned bakery now is intended to house several women-owned businesses.

Cristina Villanueva intends to renovate the one-story building at 1107 W. Oklahoma Ave. into a professional space for business owners to meet with clients instead of relying on coffee shops and other informal spaces.

“We need, in this area, a space for other women entrepreneurs,” said Villanueva to the Zoning, Neighborhoods & Development Committee on Thursday. The building is located on the city’s south side in the Crisol Corridor Business Improvement District.

“There are so many entrepreneurs in this city that just need that small space to start out with,” she said. In additional to small offices, the building would include a shared kitchenette and common space.

Villanueva would be her own first, and second, customer.

She would operate her tax and accounting practice, Ambas Financial, in the 1,796-square-foot building. She would also use the space for her pandemic-inspired business Negozee. The online, social learning platform aims to provide Spanish-speaking entrepreneurs access to official government resources and additional support in their language of choice.

Villanueva, who grew up on the south side, said she wished her mother had access to a similar space.

Crisol Corridor executive director Leif Otteson praised Villanueva’s vision and perseverance. He said she first contacted the business improvement district in 2018 about her idea. “We are exciting to have a business like this in the area,” he told the committee.

The committee unanimously endorsed the sale. The full council is scheduled to review it next week.

Last year, the city approved selling the building for $115,000 to the owner of Ruby’s Bagels, Daniela Varela, for use as a cafe and bakery. The truck-based business has relied on a shared commercial kitchen since its 2019 inception. But the sale never occurred.

Villanueva, through a limited liability company, would acquire the property for $75,000 and invest approximately $210,000 in the entire project.

The city acquired the building through property tax foreclosure in 2019 from Viva Advanced Healthcare Inc., which had used it as a medical office building. The structure was built in 1952 according to city assessment records and includes a rear parking lot. It has been used for medical tenants for its entire existence.

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