Million-dollar community center opening in Taunton's Whittenton. What will it offer?

TAUNTON — “Part of what T.R.U.E. Diversity is trying to do is change the narrative around what a community center is," said the Taunton non-profit's Executive Director Tanya Lobo.

Lobo was referring to the creation of a new community center called "The Loft" in the Whittenton neighborhood that could open as early as this fall.

"We’re doing it our way. It’s our story to tell regarding how the community space should look and serve the people, as well as us being open to many different ideas and programming,” Lobo said.

The Loft is a collaborative effort among T.R.U.E. Diversity, the Whittenton Community Partnership and Mass Development to revitalize the Whittenton district economically and socially.

What is The Loft?

Lobo said The Loft — which stands for Launchpad for Opportunity, Friendship and Teaching — will serve as a hub for community engagement, education and workforce development.

Besides T.R.U.E. Diversity’s youth and family-based programming, jobs training will be offered through its green energy training center, as well as certificate programs offered for numerous vocations, such as HVAC.

Different organizations and community partners that work with T.R.U.E. Diversity — which describes itself as a "grassroots organization holistically championing equity and instilling growth mindset in BIPOC and marginalized youth, as well as supporting underserved families" — have expressed interest in running some of their own programming through The Loft, said Lobo.

Lobo added sustainability methods of urban renewal, like rooftop and courtyard gardens, solar arrays, and rainwater collection, are being looked at to be utilized for The Loft in response to “the reality of climate change.”

'Urban room' event space

The cornerstone space of The Loft will be an “urban room” meant to be a flexible area to host events, exhibitions, social gatherings and community meetings.

“It’s a way to bring the community to the space and respond to what they want and need. For residents who don’t know about T.R.U.E., this can bring them to the conversation,” said Misha Thomas from Mass Development.

Lobo said The Loft is also meant to be a welcoming space for people to drop in because they need that space, “and not have to buy anything.”

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State funding for Gateway Cities

Thomas works as a representative, or fellow, for Mass Development’s Transformative Development Initiative (TDI), an economic development program specifically for Gateway Cities like Taunton. The program utilizes funding and resources to help revitalize former commercial and industrial districts and blighted, underserved communities within these Gateway Cities.

MassDevelopment designated Taunton’s Whittenton neighborhood a TDI district in 2022.

“We aren’t looking at the Miltons. We’re looking at the Brocktons. The Tauntons. The Attleboros. There’s an income base we look at,” said Thomas, adding that Whittenton is “a community that has seen a level of disinvestment over the years.”

Through the TDI, other measures employed or being worked on for Whittenton include reviving the Whittenton Block Party, installing murals and sidewalk art created by city artists and a wayfinding campaign where street and business signage will be upgraded to both beautify and provide direction for visitors to the neighborhood.

Thomas said The Loft is “a piece of a large puzzle” as the TDI looks at different measures aimed at enhancing and increasing real estate value, supporting small businesses and expanding arts and cultural features in Whittenton.

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Where will The Loft be located?

The Loft will be located at 325 Bay St., the corner of Bay and West Britannia streets, formerly home to Steve’s Appliances, which closed down over 10 years ago.

The address is really three conjoined buildings, totaling about 6,000 square feet, which T.R.U.E. Diversity took over at the beginning of 2024.

Lobo said the idea for The Loft started three years ago, “prior to Mass Development coming in.”  T.R.U.E. Diversity wanted the space, had talked with different city entities, like the Office of Economic and Community Development and even looked into grant funding opportunities for building out the space.

Lobo said conversations stopped for a while, until Thomas from Mass Development started looking at the exact same property.

“We saw this property and wanted to fix it up, but we needed a tenant,” said Thomas, who added “all things lined up in perfect time” with T.R.U.E. Diversity.

How much will renovation cost?

Lobo said building out the space and bringing the building up to code will cost between one and two million dollars. This includes a new roof, asbestos remediation, new electrical systems and making the building compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The venture has received a mixture of grant funding on the local, state and federal levels, but T.R.U.E. Diversity and TDI are still engaging in grant seeking and a capital campaign for filling in the remaining gaps of needed funding.

Both Lobo and Thomas said communication with the city remains productive.

“[The City] is definitely open to talking about how to fill those gaps and help us financially,” said Lobo.

“There’s an open stream of communication with the Mayor’s Office. She’s very passionate about Whittenton and how the program will benefit groups and small businesses,” said Thomas.

When will The Loft be open?

Lobo and Thomas said they both hope they can open up and start offering programming at The Loft this fall.

This article originally appeared on The Taunton Daily Gazette: Taunton getting million-dollar community center. Where, when and more