Sneak peek: HUB for Community Innovation opens to partners with visit by Condoleezza Rice

About 150 people, including former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, gathered at the new HUB for Community Innovation campus on Tuesday to celebrate the end of construction on the $33.5 million community resource center.

Located on the corner of Chafee Avenue and Fenwick Street bordering the Medical District and Harrisburg, the HUB for Community Innovation's two-building campus will serve as home base for five local nonprofits. In one building, known as HUB West, Augusta Locally Grown, Augusta University Literacy Center, Harrisburg Family Health Care and RISE Augusta, a dropout prevention program, will expand their offerings to the public. A second building, known as HUB East, will be the new headquarters for the Boys & Girls Club of the CSRA. 

Rice, vice chair of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America's Board of Governors, praised the work that will be done at the HUB and the local support the project has had.

"It is really at the local level that we see the greatest energy and the greatest compassion because government can do a lot of things, but government cannot reach out to the teen mother who is afraid and provide compassion," Rice said. "Government cannot lift up the child who might find herself sleeping in a car because of homelessness. Government cannot reach out and make sure that every child and every human being has a chance." 

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In what was formerly a grass field, construction of the buildings officially began just six months ago, said HUB Augusta Collaborative President Shell Berry. Both facilities are mostly complete with a few final interior touches remaining like door knobs and some flooring.

Berry thanked community and financial partners for their support and leadership and announced the closing of a New Market Tax Credit transaction netting $4 million toward the HUB's construction costs. The federal tax incentive program fosters community development and economic growth by allowing investors to receive tax credits in exchange for equity investments in low-income communities, according to the U.S. Department of Treasury.

While many organizations have worked in the surrounding neighborhoods for the past decade, Berry said the opening of the HUB with dedicated space will allow nonprofits to expand their offerings and availability to the community.

"By bringing existing resources and nonprofits together in one location, we can start to bolster equitable access to all the essential elements of a thriving community," she said.

Representatives from Augusta Locally Grown gave tours of their new headquarters, which features a large commercial kitchen for their vendors and community members and the space to host educational classes on healthy eating.

"We are all about connecting local food to local families," said Augusta Locally Grown Programs Director Brennan Meagher. "We're so excited for how we're gonna be able to do that at the HUB in this space."

Both buildings are expected to open to the public in June. A grand opening event will be announced later this summer.