Lawrence, MA – December 10, 2024 – The City of Lawrence marks a significant milestone today with the grand opening of the New Balance Foundation SquashBusters Center and Armand Michael Hyatt Apartments. Hosted by Lawrence Community Works, Inc. (LCW) and SquashBusters (SQB), this event celebrates the successful culmination of years of collaboration, strategic planning, and community investment to bring affordable, healthy, green housing and transformative opportunities to the city’s youth and families.
The newly opened facility at 26-30 Island Street complex brings together deeply affordable family housing and a brand-new world-class community center, in a holistic development that nurtures the emerging neighborhood in the City’s historic Mill District. The project signifies a new era of innovation and commitment to youth programming for the Lawrence community, building on the presence of other strong youth organizations in the area and heralding more to come. The 18,000-square-foot New Balance Foundation SquashBusters Center, a cornerstone of this development, features classrooms, squash courts, a fitness center, and flexible community spaces. Beyond its primary programming, the center will serve as a vital resource for residents and groups, fostering a sense of belonging and partnership.
“The New Balance Foundation SquashBusters Center at Armand Michael Hyatt Apartments represents the culmination of spreading love, expanding opportunity, and investing in youth, day in and day out, for almost three decades. Never in a million years did I imagine this level of impact when I set out on this journey in 1996 with only 24 youth participants.,” said Greg Zaff, Founder of SquashBusters. “On behalf of our Board and staff, I’m deeply proud and humbled by this collaboration. We are grateful to the many contributors, but especially the New Balance Foundation for making this dream a reality, and for our partnership with Lawrence Community Works for imagining the possibility and for having the courage to say ‘Yes’!”
The surrounding Armand Michael Hyatt Apartments, completed as part of this initiative, provides 80 units of brand new deeply affordable rental housing to meet the pressing demand in the city. AMH represents $46M of investment to revitalize this formerly industrial 4-acre site, adding outdoor recreational spaces and safe community access to the Nunzio DiMarca Park and Merrimack River. AMH is a deeply green development, with rooftop solar in process and designed to achieve “Passive House” certification, one of the most energy efficient building standards. Over 1,700 applications have been received for the 80 apartment homes.
“Lawrence Community Works has a central commitment to holistic development that provides a double or triple “bang for the buck” for our community. It’s not just about housing units; it’s about revitalizing neighborhoods, creating opportunities, and showing folks what is possible when community partners come together in Lawrence,” said Jess Andors, Executive Director of LCW. “The opening of the New Balance Foundation SquashBusters Center and Phase Two of the Armand Michael Hyatt Apartments embodies the idea of a healthy, equitable neighborhood - one that not only provides cutting-edge affordable housing but also creates a hub for education, wellness, and connection that will empower our residents for generations to come.”
City leaders, project partners, and community members joined in the festivities, with remarks from Lawrence Mayor Brian A. DePeña, State Senator Pavel Payano, MA Secretary Edward Augustus, and representatives from New Balance Foundation. Their words highlighted the shared vision and dedication that brought this milestone to fruition.
Molly Santry, Director of New Balance Foundation, expressed the foundation’s pride in the project, saying, “As a longtime supporter of SquashBusters and Lawrence Community works - along with dozens of other impactful non-profit organizations across the city of Lawrence - it’s wonderful to see this project come to life. It aligns directly with our mission to invest in vibrant communities and bright futures through sport and know it will make a meaningful difference to the community--especially to the young people of Lawrence.”
LCW was founded in 1986 and experienced a rebirth in 1999, since leveraging over $150 million of direct investment into the city, while growing its membership base to 5,000 residents and stakeholders and implementing innovative asset-building, workforce training, and youth development programs.
Since 2012, SquashBusters has been an integral part of the Lawrence community, inspiring hundreds of students through sports, academics, and mentorship. For the first time, all its programming will be centralized in this state-of-the-art facility, increasing its reach and deepening its impact.
Today’s celebration drew more than 250 guests, including students and families, funders, and elected officials. As the ribbon was cut and the doors opened, attendees were invited to tour the facility, meet with program leaders, and see firsthand the exciting opportunity this development adds to the community.
New Balance Athletics joined the Lawrence business community in 1982. Employing more than 600 associates in the city across the brand’s global design and development center, athletic footwear manufacturing, factory retail store at 5 South Union Street as well as its nearby distribution center- the Company’s facility is less than a half mile from the AMH complex.
About the New Balance Foundation (NBF):
The New Balance Foundation (NBF) invests in vibrant communities and bright futures through sport. Since 1981, New Balance Foundation has invested in proven pathways to help young people achieve their goals. Our grantmaking focuses on community-led, outcomes-driven initiatives that promote access to sport, educational support, career readiness and overall well-being. We have granted over $150 million USD to date to trailblazing non-profits across the globe. This includes more than $12 million USD in donations to 90 non-profits in 2024 alone. Learn more about New Balance Foundation at https://www.newbalance.com/new-balance-foundation/our-mission/.
About SquashBusters (SQB):
SquashBusters (SQB) is a sports-based youth development program that believes in the transformative impact of athletics and education on young people’s lives. Established in 1996, each year the organization serves over 500 students, aged 12 to 25, in Boston and Lawrence, MA and Providence, RI. SQB strategically combines the sport of squash with academic support, health and fitness initiatives, community service, college and financial aid mentoring, and career guidance so students can fulfill their greatest potential. Since our inception, 98% of our students have gone on to post-secondary education, 86% of the time to a four-year college. Within 6 years, 70% graduate and all do so without accruing excessive debt. Our alumni have gone on to successful careers in finance, medicine, engineering, law, teaching and more, including our CEO who is a 2010 graduate of the program. Learn more about SquashBusters at www.squashbusters.org.
About Lawrence Community Works (LCW):
Lawrence Community Works (LCW) is a community development corporation based in Lawrence, MA that weaves together community planning, organizing, and asset-building efforts with high-quality affordable housing and commercial development to create vibrant neighborhoods and empowered residents. For over 25 years, LCW has focused on building social capital among Lawrence residents (neighbors, parents, youth), fostering leadership skills and practices at multiple levels of the community, engaging residents in the design and governance of projects and programs, mobilizing people to volunteer and vote, and implementing collective action campaigns and deep collaborations to improve housing, municipal budgeting, economic development, and schools. To learn more about our work, visit www.lawrencecommunityworks.org.
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