Image courtesy of IBA and Studio Enee
The South End’s newest hub of culture and community rose on a site with a long history of activism.
After La CASA: The Center for Arts, Self-determination and Activism officially opens May 18, the 4-story structure at 85 West Newton St. will become New England’s largest Latino cultural center, hosting a series of performances, concerts and exhibits. It also houses the new administrative offices of its owner and developer, the nonprofit community development corporation Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA).
“La Casa is really in the center of the action and the core of the community,” IBA CEO Vanessa Calderón-Rosado said during a tour of the property this week.
Designed by Needham-based Studio ENÉE, the 26,000 square-foot building replaces the All Saints Lutheran Church. Under the late Rev. Vernon Carter, the congregation was active in the Boston school desegregation movement during the 1960s.
IBA purchased the church property in 1986 and turned it into a cultural center and preschool, and hosted community meetings during the 1990s to combat a wave of youth violence.
During a renovation project that began in 2017, IBA discovered significant structural damage. The property was condemned by city inspectors, and IBA began planning the redevelopment.
“It was a difficult process, because it always is when you’re taking an important community symbol away,” Calderon-Rosado said. “Despite all that, the community was inspired by the vision of having a new space that was really transformational.”
While restoration efforts failed, terra cotta tiles and stained glass from the church were incorporated into the new building. The latter occupy a chapel-like area on the lower level.
The heart of the La Casa complex is the 438-capacity Jean and Tom Yawkey Hall, a 2-story performance space that opens onto an adjacent playground and amphitheater during the warm weather season. The opening weekend will include a performance by Eguie Castrillo, a percussionist and Berklee College of Music professor, and a dance fiesta.
A second-floor gallery that will feature rotating exhibits debuts with artwork by Antonio Martorell, the Puerto Rican graphic artist and painter, connecting to flexible art studio and classroom areas.
“They saw the arts not only as a way to celebrate their heritage and culture, but also as a tool to build community,” Calderón-Rosado said of the organization’s founders.
IBA was founded in 1968, when Puerto Rican activists banded together to fight a Boston Redevelopment Authority urban renewal plan to demolish homes in the South End. The organization developed the nearby Villa Victoria affordable housing property, and has made arts and culture a central piece of its early education programs.
Administrative offices for the community development corporation occupy upper floors of the building, located at the edge of its 667-unit affordable housing portfolio.
Financing for La Casa included $22 million in New Markets tax credits. IBA has completed $9.8 million toward a $12.5 million fundraising campaign, and continues to seek donors.
