What’s inside the new HUB 07 community center in Boston Square?
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — In southeast Grand Rapids, there’s a new addition to the Boston Square neighborhood: HUB 07.
It’s a $26 million, 45,000-square-foot community center at 1534 Kalamazoo Ave. SE, home to a number of local organizations. It officially opened in the fall.
Developers say it’s a critical investment for an economically underserved community, and it won’t stop there.
“Now that we’ve crossed that finish line, there’s so much more great work to do here in the Boston Square community,” said Jon Ippel, the executive director of Amplify GR, the non-profit spurring growth in the neighborhood.
HUB 07 stands for Hope, Unite, Build. The numbers are taken from the last two digits of the neighborhood’s ‘49507’ zip code.
The community center is currently open from Monday through Friday, with plans to make the space open on weekends.
Ippel said that 11 of the 14 building’s spaces are currently occupied. The tenants include Health Net of West Michigan, Grand Rapids African American Health Institute and Calvin University.
It’s also home to a primary care clinic operated by Corewell Health, staffed by one doctor and two nurse practitioners.
It fills a major gap in care for the community.
“Prior to this, there was a handful of healthcare access points, mainly focused on urgent cares,” said Jenny Luth, the partnerships director at Amplify GR. “We found that so many neighbors were using that for their primary care. Corewell Health found that there are currently 1,500 children in the Boston Square neighborhood that do not have primary care physicians for those really important wellness checks.”
There’s also an early learning center that opened in September for children as young as 5 weeks to 5 years old, operated by the Refugee Education Center.
“I know they have 50 to 60 kids behind the doors here, 20 to 30 staff in there as well,” said Luth. “Students are exposed to all different cultures and languages.”
Luth said the center could grow to support as many as 75 students in the next few years.
Also under the same roof is a multi-purpose event space, which can host as many as 150 people. It’s already home to three dance classes each week, and has hosted birthday parties and a New Year’s Eve celebration.
Event rates are lower for Boston Square residents and non-profit organizations.
“I want to maybe have a wedding,” said Luth. “That’s my goal for this year, is to have a wedding and a reception in this space. That offers them a location so close to home.”
Free meeting rooms and focus areas are available in the lobby
A coffee shop operated by Last Mile Cafe is set to open in a few weeks, according to Luth and Ippel.
“Now we’re all hanging out here now,” said Luth. “We’re all grabbing coffee together and talking about what should be available in this community.”
Coming soon to the Boston Square neighborhood are two mixed-use, mixed-income apartment buildings, right across the street from HUB 07.
“Those buildings will have 102 units, and then we’ll have approximately 10,000 square feet of ground floor retail in those spaces,” said Ippel.
Of those units, he said 80% will be subsidized based on income level and 20% will rent at the market rate. The goal is to have residents moving in this summer. Lease information will soon be available on the Boston Square Together website, according to Luth.
“We would say Boston Square is an asset-rich neighborhood, but one that certainly has a variety of different income levels,” said Ippel. “There has been a lack of investment in this neighborhood. [We are] trying to recreate some of the investment that historically has been lacking in this neighborhood.”
As a fifth-generation resident of Boston Square, Luth couldn’t be prouder of what she’s helped build.
“There’s no community like Boston Square and the southeast side of Grand Rapids,” said Luth. “Anybody who lives in this community knows this is a stable community in a historic area that celebrates diversity, that loves each other and is really focused on family, and I really think that this project, HUB 07, has captured that spirit.”