HUB 07
Hope. Unite. Build.
A Collective Community Design: HUB 07 will provide a communal front porch and living room for current neighbors and the generations of neighbors to come!
Introducing HUB 07, your new community hub is coming to Boston Square!
Phase 1 of the building at 1534 Kalamazoo Ave. SE will open in late summer or early fall 2024. This will include a community cafe, multi-purpose event space, AGR's new offices and shared workspace for community programming. The Corewell Health Wellness Space + Clinic is projected to open by the end of the year, pending construction timelines.
The New Name and Logo!
Created by Neighbors with Neighbors in Mind.
An official name has been decided for what was formerly known as the Boston Square Community Hub, which is currently being built at 1534 Kalamazoo Ave. SE.
The name is HUB 07: Hope. Unite. Build.
For short, HUB 07 was chosen with a neighbor-led naming committee that helped usher the process of finding one name out of 168 submitted suggestions through a public contest. That process included the following:
An open call for name submissions online and in-person
A community event where neighbors and friends were invited to vote in person
Votes were also counted from nine naming committee members, AGR staff and the Neighborhood Advisory Committee (NAC)
HUB 07 was chosen based on votes, but the naming committee also created a tagline during the process.
“Together, we HOPED for the future of the community, UNITED to create the ideas and the designs, and now we can BUILD into the future.”
Created by Neighbors
The committee found several inspirational words from the initial 168 submissions, which they used to create "Hope. Unite. Build."
They felt strongly that this represented the process of Boston Square Together and the neighbor-voiced priorities that led to HUB 07 in the first place.
The photo above: the neighbor naming committee meets with The Image Shoppe in November 2023 to discuss their ideas. Top (from left): Jenny Luth, Esan Sommersell and Pastor James Jones. Bottom (from left): Alfield Reeves, Joan Huyser-Honig and Elyse Flynn (designer at The Image Shoppe). Not pictured: Latesha Lipscomb, Graceshawn "Red" Bracey, Laassah Marshall-Taylor, Robert S. Womack and Rob McCarty (owner at The Image Shoppe).
The WINNER OF THE "Name That Hub!" CONTEST IS ... Sheena Walls!
Sheena submitted the names 07 HUB and HUB 07 through the voting process (shared above), and her submission came out on top. It was a close contest!
There was positive feedback on the word "HUB" as it already was a nickname for the building commonly used by neighbors. The "07" is a nod to 49507, the zip code for a big portion of Southeast Grand Rapids that is often used to identify the area.
Congrats, Sheena! Your prize is dinner for four at a neighborhood restaurant of your choice!
Thanks to ALL who submitted thoughtful names that reflect the community!
Sheena is also a member of the Neighborhood Advisory Committee (NAC) and has served on the Boston Square Community Tree Lighting planning committee for the last three years.
The Logo and the Brand
The neighbor naming committee also collaborated with designers from the local firm, The Image Shoppe, to create and finalize the logo and brand.
This included several brainstorms and review meetings where neighbors shared details about how this logo should represent HUB 07 and the Boston Square community they know and love.
Phase 2 of the voting process occurred with the naming committee and AGR staff, who sifted through several logo options.
The final step in the overall process for the brand will be a color application and a brand guide coming soon! A major thank you to all who submitted ideas, voted and spent their time guiding this process so that Boston Square Together continues to be created by neighbors, for neighbors.
The Design Process
The Image Shoppe provided thought and direction behind each logo idea based on what they heard neighbors say in prep meetings.
A Look at the Final Design
From The Image Shoppe: "In this solution, we were inspired by the idea of the interwoven links that build a community. The Hub is a place that contains a multifaceted number of elements, each one linking to one another with a sense of unity. This symbol feels reminiscent to waves that can have a rippling effect throughout a community."
Thanks to The Image Shoppe for their collaboration and great work!
Thanks to all who participated in the contest!
A HUGE thank you to all those who submitted ideas online and in person, those who showed up to vote at the community event and each thoughtful conversation and feedback shared regarding the process! Neighbors and friends care about this community, and it shows!
About HUB 07
HUB 07 will provide a communal front porch and living room for current neighbors and the generations of neighbors to come!
Construction started in the Fall 2022 on the building (1534 Kalamazoo Ave. SE) and is being transformed into a two-story community hub that will become the front porch and living room of the Boston Square community. The design and plans for amenities within HUB 07 were informed by neighbors - all reflecting what neighbors wanted to see, hear, feel and experience in their community. Together with neighbors, Boston Square Together partners created large-scale community feedback loops, a group of 25+ highly-engaged neighbors in decision-making processes called the Neighborhood Advisory Committees (NAC) + Workgroups, and hundreds of hours chatting in 1-1 conversations with neighbors regarding the hub.
Boston Square Together held a celebration for the start of construction on April 26, 2023, called, “Raise the Roof: The Boston Square Community Hub “Skybreaking”. Learn more about the event and see pictures by clicking here.
Mlive: Community hub to be ‘cultural anchor’ of large-scale Grand Rapids development
What is the vision?
Boston Square neighbors experience the joy of a thriving neighborhood.
What is the mission?
Increase the quality, availability, and effectiveness of educational and community-based programs designed to prevent disease and injury, improve health and enhance the quality of life in the neighborhoods served.
Inside hub 07
Meant to draw the community inside, HUB 07 will not only act as a front porch to the community but a living room that will offer several amenities allowing neighbors to work, learn, gather, unwind and grow in new ways.
What we heard neighbors say
After factoring prior City of GR plans and feedback loops through Boston Square Together efforts, loops, there were three top activities and amenities that neighbors wanted to see in their community.
#1 Education and Programming
#2 Open Green Space
#3 Sustainable Food
Another priority surfaced around “Multi-generational gathering spaces (recreational, entertainment, etc.)” and a community hub was proposed. Neighbor voiced-priorities included:
Gathering place for children
Community engagement facility
Health and wellness center
Coffee house
Youth center
Early childhood/child care
Florist
Performing Arts Center
And so many more…
Amenities
High-quality state-of-the-art design
Health and wellness clinic
Early childhood education
Multi-purpose room (rentable by neighbors)
Community café
Shared workspace
A second floor full of agencies and non-profits to provide wrap-around services to increase access to resources and education that will improve the quality of life in the neighborhood
Neighbor feedback from Boston Square Together Open House.
COMMUNITY PARTNERS IN HUB 07
An Early Learning Center will occupy a 9,000-square-foot space and will initially accommodate up to 80 children. IFF, a nonprofit lender and developer headquartered in Chicago with a Grand Rapids office, facilitates the funding for the space. IFF provides loans, real estate consulting, and development to support mission-driving nonprofits in the Midwest. Based on thousands of hours of conversations with neighbors plus the prior City of GR plans, early childhood education has been a priority for Boston Square neighbors for at least 20 years. The Early Learning Center in HUB 07 will offer increased early childhood education for a large residential area surrounding Boston Square. It will provide additional opportunities to meet the high demands of growing families.
Corewell Health will operate a health center in 5,500 square feet of space on the main level. The center will offer primary care for both adult and pediatric patients. It will focus on value-based outcomes, reducing the burden of disease, and preventative tactics to improve the health of the area’s population.
“We are committed to community partnerships that help solve problems,” said Dr. Alejandro Quiroga, president of Corewell Health in West Michigan. “This neighborhood has lower health outcomes than people who live in surrounding neighborhoods. We aim to disrupt that pattern and help people here thrive.”
