The LeBron James Family Foundation in Akron, Ohio, has opened the House Three Thirty center as part of the NBA star’s philanthropic commitment to his hometown, Ideastream Public Media reports.

The center, located in a converted restaurant and event space, aims to provide job training to Akron families and create an economic engine that will benefit the community and serve as a venue for the foundation’s projects. Already, the venture has created 45 jobs for students from the James-funded I Promise School, their families, and teachers. The space now includes a Starbucks Community Store and a JPMorgan Chase Community Space. In addition, the LeBron James Home Court museum and retail store and an ice cream shop are expected to open in June, a PepsiCo Foundation-sponsored training kitchen will provide jobs and skills training for community members, and a theater—providing space for I Promise School performances—as well as a taco shop, a wine tasting room, an event space, and a sports bar bearing LeBron James’s name are planned for future development.

“This is a dual facility,” said Lebron James Family Foundation executive director Michele Campbell. “There’s a philanthropic component and there’s a revenue component. So we do have to open and start booking events and doing all of that to help us fund that.”

The House Three Thirty effort is part of a broader investment by the foundation to bolster business and community development in Akron that includes I Promise Village; a transitional housing program for the families of I Promise School students; the I Promise housing complex, a collaboration with the East Akron Neighborhood Development Corporation to develop affordable housing for 50 families; and the I Promise HealthQuarters, across from the House Three Thirty center, providing primary care, lab facilities, and a variety of other health services.

“In everything we do as a foundation, it’s all about making our kids, parents, and people across the community believe there can be more in their lives than they ever dreamed possible,” said James. “We designed House Three Thirty to create opportunities and open doors to show them that anything is possible, and that they can do it right here in Akron.”

(Photo credit: Wikimedia/Keith Allison)