Nubian Square (formerly known as Dudley Square) has witnessed tremendous change since urban development began to take foot in the late 19th century. Once a thriving community animated by local businesses and a constant flow of people moving through the Dudley Street terminal, decades of municipal disinvestment beginning in the 1950s transformed the Roxbury community, severing a vital lifeline to Boston’s downtown and inhibiting the neighborhood from furthering its prosperity.

Urban renewal projects in the 1960s displaced thousands of residents under eminent domain, driving barriers through the dense and cohesive neighborhood and weakening the commercial center of Nubian Square. 

One of the casualties of this divide was Ferdinand’s Furniture Store, once the largest furniture store in New England. After opening in the 1860s in a modest two-story building in Nubian Square, the thriving business built a new flagship store in 1895 that anchored a triangular corner in the Square, attracting customers arriving by foot and transit.

Yet, since the 1970s, the historic building with its iconic round windows had sat vacant—a former symbol of prosperity that became a signifier of decades of disinvestment. 

The City of Boston purchased the building in 2006, initiating Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s Dudley Square Vision Project the following year. The project focused on breathing new life into the local landmark. Sasaki, in partnership with Delft-based firm Mecanoo, worked to combine the facades of the Ferdinand building and the adjacent historic Curtis and Waterman buildings into a new administrative home for the Boston Public Schools (BPS) and a public resource for the community. 

As part of the redevelopment process, Mayor Menino established a special steering committee that combined expertise in private development and public facilities, which would explore how mutual benefits from the two areas could help create more vibrant neighborhoods. The incorporation of mixed-use development strategies from the private sector helped expand the possibilities of the way a civic building could engage a wider public, inviting people to participate in a more inclusive and welcoming style of city government. This approach has carried over to other models across the city, as seen in the addition of the cafe and GBH studio to the renovated Boston Public Library Johnson Building. 

The success of this mixed-use model has helped restore the iconic stature of Nubian Square’s commercial district while contributing to the ongoing work of building prosperity in the neighborhood. Ten years after its opening, we’re reflecting on the impact of the Bolling Building and its continued presence as a beacon of resilience for Roxbury and Boston at large. 

Building with Community

When the building project began in 2011, it was critical for Sasaki and the City to work with the local neighborhood stakeholders and the broader community to consider and determine the resources the Square needed, and how bringing BPS to the neighborhood could strengthen ties between the city and local community.

The substantial physical presence of the building—whose total square footage came to over 200,000 sq ft—ran the risk of overwhelming the scale of the existing urban fabric, one vital to the identity of the area and the people who call it home. Considering the Bolling Building as a “village” rather than a “building” helped focus the design on melding with the context of the neighborhood. 

For a year and a half, the design team held public meetings every two weeks in a nearby building in the Square, fielding feedback and questions while providing progress updates. This sustained dialogue resulted in a municipal building that actively welcomes the public to participate in its spaces. The expansive, double-height lobby, a direct result of that community engagement, functions as an indoor public plaza where employees and community members alike gather to meet and rest. The lobby also doubles as an event space for hosting everything from student receptions to musical performances. The publicly accessible roof terrace on the sixth floor provides additional opportunities for relaxing and gathering against the sweeping backdrop of downtown Boston’s skyline. 

The engagement process made clear that the retail spaces needed to be helmed by local, independent business owners rather than chains, reinforcing the building’s commitment to serving and uplifting the neighborhood. Dudley Cafe, a longtime tenant, partners with the nearby Madison Park Technical High School to provide training opportunities for students and sources many of its ingredients from local businesses. 

A womenswear boutique, optometrist, and a West African restaurant also enliven the street-level spaces and contribute to the revival of Nubian Square’s commercial district.  The community’s own home-grown jazz club is planned for the building, which will create a full circle moment that reaffirms Roxbury’s strong historical ties to the music’s culture.

Within the building’s office spaces, the nonprofit Roxbury Innovation Center provides vital resources to help local entrepreneurs and small business owners thrive, further reinforcing the circular economy of support that forms the bedrock of Roxbury.

Anchoring the future of Nubian Square

Since the opening of the building in 2015, municipal investment in Roxbury has continued to grow. The city’s Nubian Square Ascends Project plans to revive the area’s history as a mixed-use cultural and entertainment district by creating artist housing, office and lab spaces, retail, a performing arts center and more on a group of empty lots. In addition, community groups are spearheading public arts projects, block parties, and pop-up markets that focus on celebrating local artists and uplifting Black-owned businesses. Improvements to bus facilities and transit connections are also underway, addressing legacies of transportation inequity and bringing more foot traffic to the Square. 

The Bolling Building is just one facet of Nubian Square’s path of regeneration. Addressing decades of disinvestment requires continued focus and commitment to this vital part of the city. Yet restoring this local landmark and opening its doors to the public has helped chart a model for how ambitious building projects can produce rippling changes throughout a community. Rooted in the past while looking to the future, the Bolling Building embodies the enduring strength and vibrancy of Roxbury and continues to support the evolving community it serves.