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Concept
The Southside Community Land Trust (SCLT) Headquarters is a
building reuse
and urban design in south Providence, Rhode Island. It consists of a multipurpose
building that houses the headquarters of the SCLT organization, with a small plaza and
a community garden across from it. The building includes office, retail and restaurant space.
It has ground-floor space for active frontages that will be rented to locally owned restaurants
and other food-related businesses. These will generate income for the organization and
activate the street. This project is intended to revitilize an area that is a gateway
between downtown and Upper South Providence, and which has been challenged by years of disinvestment.
The revitalized building and adjacent facilities will serve as a community hub.
SCLT manages almost 60 urban gardens and 50 acres
of urban or suburban farmland that produce food for several thousand people.
The mission of the organization is to “build a
more just local food system that serves low-income neighborhoods
who have limited access to fresh produce.”
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Photo ©
Union Studio Architecture
SCLT Headquarters |
SCLT manages a wide range
of urban agriculture programs including youth and adult agricultural education.
As a result of the builiding and facilities remodeling,
"the large classroom and flexible programming space has allowed SLCT to expand
their Youth Enterprise Center for youth staff to
develop workforce skills
and lead workshops for peers and neighbors.”
History
The Southside Community Land Trust (SCLT) was born in 1981 when
Hmong refugees and several Brown University graduates began growing healthy, culturally
familiar food in community gardens on vacant lots in south Providence, Rhode Island.
The Hmong people are a distinct ethnic group indigenous group to East and Southeast Asia.
The Hmong community in Rhode Island consists mostly of indiviuals that left Asia as
refugees at the end of the Vietnam war and their descendants.
In 2017, SCLT purchased a 12,000 square foot livery building built in the 1860's to provide space for larger operations.
The building was in dire shape after 170 years, multiple uses, and at least one fire.
SCLT commissioned the Union Studio Architecture & Community Design firm to renovate the building and develop a surrounding urban plan. The building received extensive rebuilding and it was internally restructured to serve as a food-focused neighborhood center
for the community. There are several buildings of historic value in the surrounding area, some of which are being renovated.
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Photo ©
Union Studio Architecture Aerial perspective
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