Rooted in Roxbury: Joining the Neighborhood
Our new Roxbury Family Center in Boston is taking shape, and this month the team gets the keys! We've shared the floorplans and the construction progress, but there's a part of this move that doesn't show up in blueprints: what it means to become part of a neighborhood. For that, we asked Lauren Nowlan, our Boston Director, to tell us how Room to Grow found its way to Roxbury and what she hopes comes next.
For Lauren, the search began with the families. So many of the caregivers we partner with live in Dorchester, Roxbury, Mattapan, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, and the South End, and the team wanted a space that felt like part of their world. "We really want to be rooted in communities where our families are living, working, playing, building community," Lauren says.
“We looked around and just imagined what it would be like to have Room to Grow there and fell in love with it.”
Being close to those neighborhoods also meant being strategic about how much space Room to Grow really needed. Once the team landed on around 5,000 square feet, the dream started to feel real. "We can actually be in the city, be in neighborhoods that are near and dear to Room to Grow's heart," Lauren says. While driving around the area, she noticed new buildings going up at Bartlett Station and asked our realtor about the retail space. When the team first walked through, it was raw concrete, and "you had to do a lot of imagining." But it was "near a train line, near a bus line, ground level, which is so amazing for families," Lauren says. It also had parking, something Room to Grow has never had at any of its sites, and a big help for caregivers who would otherwise be circling for a spot with a little one in tow. "We looked around and just imagined what it would be like to have Room to Grow there and fell in love with it."
That love story is possible because of the neighbors who came before. Our co-location partners, NeighborHealth and the Epiphany Early Learning Center, have played an important role in Room to Grow's Boston story, and we are deeply grateful for the collaboration, flexibility, and support they have offered over the years. "For two organizations to open their doors to us and say we want Room to Grow here," Lauren says, helped the team keep expenses lean throughout our time in Boston. NeighborHealth's timeline lined up well with ours, so neither team ended up in a bind. The Epiphany Early Learning Center will remain a community partner, with many shared families still in the program, and a version of the boutique will stay with the school planning to bring in items for older students and for the caregivers. A piece of Room to Grow's legacy will keep supporting families in that space.
“If people can feel like they’re walking into a warm hug, that’s what I want.”
At the Boston warehouse, Katie's Closet, a neighbor of seven years, is taking over the lease. They've been the kind of neighbors who take in a delivery when no one's around and share with our team like it’s their own. Lauren calls it a "phenomenal friendship," and she says, "I think a piece of Room to Grow will live on there as well."
Now, with a new home of our own, the team can pay that generosity forward. "Now maybe we can return the favor and welcome people in," Lauren says.
When Lauren pictures a year from now, the hope is simple. "If people can feel like they're walking into a warm hug, that's what I want." She also hopes the space feels distinctly Boston, with murals or local art that reflect the community Room to Grow is joining.
We didn’t just want a new address, but a neighborhood, a community, and a home that feels like one for the families building theirs. We'd love for you to be part of this next chapter with us. Consider making a donation to help open Room to Grow's doors in Roxbury.
Read Behind the Build for a look at the operations decisions shaping the space, and Space to Grow for what this new home means for families.