Real Estate Development

Hope Community has been renovating and rebuilding a two block area for 15 years.

That sounds like a long time, but it actually took more than double that time to deteriorate to that point in 1989 when we said “No more!” Against all odds, Hope began to revive community relationships and rebuild the physical surroundings. Working on the assumption that physical place is an essential element of community engagement; we began listening and observing how children and families interact within the physical environment. In the process we learned many things that confirmed our belief in the power of place.

In the early 1990s, the block surrounding Hope Community was a desperate place. 

The crack cocaine epidemic had claimed the streets and many landlords had abandoned their buildings.  Families living on the block hid their children inside.  At the north end of the block where Franklin and Portland avenues intersect, gas stations and a mini-mart were havens for drug dealers.  Within a few years these businesses had abandoned the intersection, leaving blight and violence to continue.

The Corners of Franklin and Portland Ave

Before and After

  

Children’s Village Center is a model of density, safety and community in an urban environment. The building provides community gathering space on the main floor of the building, bringing new life to this vacant and under-utilized intersection.
 

Click Here for: Before and after pictures