Boston, MA According to Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA), its Center for the Arts, Self-Determination, and Activism (The CASA) has secured Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) and Zoning Board of Appeal approvals. Located at 85 West Newton St. and designed by STUDIO ENÉE architects (STUDIO ENÉE) and Annum, the new four-story building will span 26,425 s/f, increasing IBA’s usable space by 65%. The CASA will begin construction this fall and is expected to be completed in late 2024.

“We are incredibly grateful to the BPDA and Zoning Board of Appeal for this approval and are excited to take this next step in introducing The CASA to our community,” said Vanessa Calderón-Rosado, CEO of IBA. “The CASA will be a place for residents of IBA and the South End to learn, grow, perform, and, most of all, to gather. As Boston’s new home for Latinx art and community empowerment, The CASA will reinvigorate IBA’s Arts Program, expand its Youth, Social, and Economic Mobility Programs, and be a gathering space for local nonprofits and the wider community.”

Created with sustainability and accessibility in mind, The CASA will be ADA-compliant and will be built to LEED Silver+ standards, including energy efficient windows, lights, mechanical systems, and solar panels. There will be a third-floor roof deck for visitors to enjoy, overlooking the O’Day Playground and Villa Victoria. 

The building’s centerpiece will be an open, two-story performance space that will also host community meetings and events, and there will be multiple classrooms, community spaces, offices, conference rooms, a staff gym, lactation room, and bicycle storage. 

The CASA is projected to cost $25 million, which is being financed through public and private funds. IBA has launched a Capital Campaign to raise philanthropic funds to meet its total fundraising goal.

IBA offers bilingual youth development, financial empowerment, resident services, and arts programs to its residents and other local community members. These programs will be housed in The CASA once completed. 

The current IBA program headquarters at 2 San Juan St. and 405 Shawmut Ave. will be converted to 45-55 new affordable housing units following The CASA’s completion, adding to IBA’s 667 existing units.

Dedicated to establishing healthy, representative communities through accessible affordable residential development, IBA grew from efforts to fight displacement amidst gentrification in the South End during the late 1960s. This commitment to cultivating culturally vibrant, socioeconomically diverse communities despite rising living expenses and property values continues to distinguish IBA from other affordable housing developers. Today IBA is a national model for creating inclusive and sustainable communities that support even the most vulnerable community members.