Children’s Services of Roxbury: 504|520 Dudley Street

MASS has partnered with Children’s Services of Roxbury (CSR) to create a purpose built space that serves the organization alongside the children, families, and communities it supports. CSR intends to retrofit their existing building into new office spaces, training and meeting spaces, as well as for youth development programming and an early education center that will support and align with the organization’s vision to deliver culturally-relevant services to underserved families.

The existing 50,000 sq ft building sited in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston was built in the late 1800’s to house trolley cars. The project aims to maintain the historic character and impressive wood structure while unifying the two buildings into a single cohesive home for the 50-year old organization. A unified and welcoming entryway leads to a more efficient layout with increased daylight throughout the building and improved energy efficiency.

The new connection of the two existing buildings transforms the facility into a more cohesive space, offering a range of services for departmental services, behavioral health, and youth services and child care. Additionally, the building retrofit adds new child-centered programming including classrooms and indoor and outdoor play areas.

In partnership with the Boston Children’s Museum, the design embeds a child-centered approach to all spaces and leverages best practices in Trauma-informed design to create a healthy, safe, and welcoming environment for staff, families, and children. The art-filled exterior facade welcomes the broader community to engage with CSR, strengthening connections to the Roxbury neighborhood and broadcasting their message of racial and social justice.