Solidarity Headquarters
In the aftermath of the pandemic, average costs of living skyrocketed in Boston, facilitating an even faster process of displacement and gentrification in vulnerable neighborhoods like East Boston. Average rents remain some of the highest in the country and vacancies some of the lowest. Many of the cooperatives within the CCDS ecosystem that require physical space to operate have been unable to find commercial facilities whose rents are feasible for their small businesses, blocking them from being able to open up shop in their own neighborhoods.
Seeing year-over-year rent increases with no relief in sight, CCDS is taking the next step in developing a resilient cooperative economy in East Boston: the creation of a Solidarity HQ. This mixed use space would allow for cheaper rents for cooperatives who need physical space, such as daycare space for childcare coops and commercial kitchens for catering coops, while establishing a community owned and governed asset in the neighborhood. Value would not be siphoned out through rent payments to a landlord but reinvested into the community that generated it. Such a space could serve as a center for the community to gather and plan its future, much like the neighborhood church did for the original founders of CCDS in 2015.
Spatial Analysis
CCDS has recognized the need for some basic functions at the Solidarity HQ, such as office space for CCDS employees and dedicated work space for coops that need it (“Coop Studio”). Some cooperatives, like childcare and catering cooperatives, cannot reach full functionality without physical space.
Other spaces, like the Wellness space, can be used for future cooperatives dedicated to health and wellness— but its multifunctionality also allows the Solidarity Headquarters to be used as a community space. East Boston neighbors will be able to program these spaces as they desire, creating relationships with existing cooperatives and learning about the Solidarity Economy movement all the while.
While the project is in its early stages, CCDS has partnered with the pre-development consultant CoEverything to create projections and analyses for the Solidarity HQ. Currently, CCDS is engaged in a site search and has limited its scope to East Boston neighborhoods. We invite supporters of the vision to work with us: more information can be found in our Funder Brief.
