Children's Services of Roxbury begins a $27 million rebuild of its Dudley Street headquarters this month

Children's Services of Roxbury, one of the largest Black-led nonprofits in Massachusetts, will start a $27 million renovation of its Dudley Street headquarters in November, GBH News reported. The organization, founded in 1972, provides behavioral health care, early education, housing and family services, and the project is designed to let it serve about 1,500 more people.

The project

According to GBH News:

• The building. A 46,000-square-foot headquarters the organization bought in 2021. President and CEO Sandra McCroom said the mortgage costs about $300,000 a year less than the rent it paid before.
• The design. It expands what the group calls its "front porch" approach, with family hubs, studios for young adults and a large community room.
• The money. Gifts from individuals and private organizations, public funding, bank loans and federal New Markets Tax Credits. GBH did not break down the public share.
• The timeline. About two years. Staff will keep working in the building during construction.

"We have a stake in the ground," McCroom said, according to GBH. The Rev. Ray Hammond, a co-founder and pastor of Bethel AME Church, said the organization "keeps opening its doors to all in need."

The state has also put money toward the project. In October 2024, the organization announced a $500,000 award from the Healey-Driscoll administration through the Community One Stop for Growth's Underutilized Properties Program for the headquarters at 520 Dudley St. (Children's Services of Roxbury).

What our records add

Council recognition. City Councilor Miniard Culpepper, who represents Roxbury, filed a resolution recognizing Children's Services of Roxbury in June (docket 1296). It is filed as a consent agenda resolution, the type the council uses for recognitions.

Nubian Square requests. The organization's headquarters is near Nubian Square, where the council has two items on record:

• Culpepper's order for a hearing on public safety and quality of life in the Nubian Square area (docket 0513) was referred to the Public Safety and Criminal Justice Committee on March 11. It has waited 235 days, and every councilor signed on as a sponsor.
• After a six-alarm fire at the historic Edison Building in Nubian Square, the council adopted Culpepper's emergency resolution calling for immediate relief for affected businesses, 13-0, on Sept. 30 (docket 1882).

Behavioral health. The organization's core work overlaps with open council requests. Culpepper's orders for hearings on a community-based mental health crisis response pilot (docket 1001) and on support for first responders in mental health calls (docket 1000) have been in committee since May 13.

Nearby, a bigger rebuild. Madison Park Technical Vocational High School, also in Roxbury at 75 Malcolm X Blvd., is starting its own rebuild. The council approved $5 million for a feasibility study and schematic design in August (docket 1311), and a city committee meets Wednesday to shortlist project managers, as we reported.

What's next

Construction is set to start this month. The Nubian Square safety hearing has no date posted.