Special to the Times-Free Press
La CASA: The Center for Arts, Self-determination, and Activism, a transformative new Latino arts, culture, and community center, officially opened to the public on Friday, May 15. Located at 85 West Newton Street in Boston’s historic Villa Victoria, the center invited residents, staff, neighbors, donors, appointed and elected officials, and local arts, business and community leaders to recognize this historic moment in Boston’s history with a ribbon cutting ceremony followed by a weekend of community programing.
At four-stories and 26,435 square feet, La CASA stands as the largest Latino cultural center in New England and becomes the premiere and permanent home for Latino arts, culture, and community empowerment in the region. Developed by Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA), a nationally recognized community development corporation, the $33 million center—supported by public and private partners, including a $12.5 million capital campaign—will serve as a centralized hub for IBA’s programs and a cultural anchor for the region’s rapidly growing Latino population.
“At IBA, our mission has always been guided by the principle that a building is more than its walls,” said Dr. Vanessa Calderón-Rosado, CEO of IBA. “It is a place where pathways to building community, culture and generational prosperity are created. It is true that La CASA will be a brand new, flexible 26,000 square foot building—but perhaps most importantly, it will transform the lives of countless individuals, families and community members.”
Established in 1968, IBA has long been a leader in community development, serving more than 5,000 individuals annually through affordable housing, early education, youth development financial empowerment, and arts programs and developing more than 1,000 housing units since its founding. La CASA represents a major expansion of that work, doubling IBA’s operational space and significantly increasing its capacity to serve residents and the broader community.
“As much as La CASA marks a new era for the Latino community in Massachusetts and New England, it also marks a new era for IBA operationally,” said Mayra I. Negrón-Roche, Chief Operating Officer of IBA. “We anticipate tripling our arts offerings this year and growing our operational capacity for serving our residents and local community by more than 50% in the next 5 years. La CASA will be instrumental in shaping IBA and the next chapter for the Latino community across our region.”
The building features six multipurpose spaces designed for performances, exhibitions, education, and community gatherings. At its heart is the Jean and Tom Yawkey Hall, a two-story performance and event space with direct indoor-outdoor connectivity to O’Day Playground and an adjacent amphitheater. The flexible venue accommodates up to 438 guests and supports a wide range of cultural and community programming.
The visual centerpiece of the building is the large-scale entryway mural Un Futuro en Acción / A Future in Motion by Boston-based artist Acóma (Alvin Colón), celebrating the history and future of Villa Victoria’s Puerto Rican community.
La CASA expands IBA’s capacity to host robust arts programming and will enable the organization to host more than 35 programs in 2026 spanning visual art, performance, and community workshops in addition to IBA’s annual Festival Betances and Tito Puente Latin Music Series.
The center’s inaugural exhibition, Entretelas: Antonio Martorell y sus Amigos, features a body of work by internationally renowned Puerto Rican artist Antonio Martorell. A new iteration of the artists’ 2021 exhibition by the same name, the installation features nine new and recent paintings. The series emerges from a period marked by profound upheaval, including the aftermath of Hurricane María, the global COVID-19 pandemic, and a series of earthquakes in Puerto Rico. In response, Martorell turns toward intimacy and connection, emphasizing friendship, family, and collective resilience. Martorell will also spend a week as Artist in Residence at La CASA leading up to the exhibition opening in which he will collaborate with members of IBA’s community through workshops. The exhibition will be open to the public from May 15 through August 1, 2026.
Architecture and Design
Designed by STUDIO ENEÉ with Annum Architects and constructed by D.F. Pray, La CASA amplifies the mission of IBA and asserts a contemporary architectural expression in the South End. The continued collaboration with the community and the City of Boston hallmarked a design process that foregrounded transparency, welcome, and a strong connection to O’Day Park.
The result is a building that is unique in its services, its urban presence, and its progressive architectural response to a historic setting. With its colorful mix of terra cotta, glass, and brick, the design reflects the long-standing contributions and identity of Boston’s Latino community and exemplifies IBA’s commitment to sustainability and resiliency.
The building also preserves elements of the historic All Saints Lutheran Church, which once stood on the same lot as La CASA, first as a congregation deeply committed to social justice and then as a community programming center after IBA acquired the building in 1980. La CASA’s design incorporates reclaimed stained glass and terracotta tiles as a tribute to the site’s legacy of community, faith, activism, and cultural expression.
“As an Architect and a proud Puerto Rican, I am honored to have been part of the vision and design of IBA’s La CASA,” said Natasha Espada, Founding Principal of STUDIO ENÉE. “This is a building that authentically celebrates the Latinx community in Boston’s historic South End, supports our cultural heritage, and empowers future generations to embrace our roots.”
Project Funding
La CASA is supported by a diverse funding model combining public support, private investments, and mission aligned partnerships, including a $12.5 million capital campaign, which has raised $9.9 million to date.
The campaign received major philanthropic gifts from the Yawkey Foundation, Barr Foundation, Eastern Bank Foundation, Barbara and Amos Hostetter, Klarman Family Foundation, and Aixa Beauchamp and Thomas Meléndez, in addition to federal funding secured Senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren through a congressional earmark and budgetary allocations from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts secured by Representative John Moran and Senator Nick Collins.
“This project is a testament to the strong partnerships and unyielding support we’ve received from Yawkey Foundation, TD Bank, Barr Foundation, Eastern Bank and others,” said Aixa Beauchamp, La CASA Capital Campaign co-chair and founder of the Latino Equity Fund at The Boston Foundation. “La CASA is the embodiment of IBA’s mission and gives a glimpse of what’s to come as IBA continues its growth as a driving force in Boston’s art scene.”
“We view the foundation’s investment in La CASA as more important than ever given that the Latino community is now the fastest growing population in Boston and the Commonwealth, said Alicia Verity, CEO of Yawkey Foundation. “And we are deeply honored that the Yawkeys will be a lasting part of this exciting and vital new cultural beating heart of the community.”
Financing of the project was made possible due to two New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocations in the amounts of $12 million and $8 million from The Community Builders and TD Community Development Corporation, respectively.
“From IBA’s youth development and financial empowerment programs to its resident services and diversity in the arts, we are grateful to be working with an organization that is so deeply entrenched in every aspect of its local community,” said Michael Cooper, President of TD Community Bank.
La CASA: The Center for Arts, Self-determination and Activism is a Latino arts, culture, and community center located at 85 West Newton Street in the historic Villa Victoria neighborhood of Boston’s South End. As Boston’s premier home for Latino arts, culture, and community empowerment, La CASA serves as a vibrant hub for creative expression, cultural celebration, and community-building.
Developed by IBA – Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción, a nationally recognized affordable housing developer and community development corporation (CDC), La CASA represents a transformative expansion of IBA’s legacy in affordable housing, arts, and community development. With a $33 million investment—supported by public and private partners, including a $12.5 million capital campaign—the center will serve as a centralized hub for IBA’s programs and a cultural anchor for the region’s rapidly growing Latino population. Upon opening in May 2026, La CASA will be the largest Latino cultural center in New England, serving as the premiere and permanent home for Latino arts, culture, and community empowerment. More information is available at www.ibaboston.org/la-casa.
Established in 1968, Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA) is a nonprofit, community development corporation that started in Boston’s South End to address displacement of low-income families due to urban development. Today, IBA is a national model of community development that offers affordable housing and supportive programming to increase social and economic mobility, including early education, youth development, financial empowerment, resident services, and arts programs. IBA’s programs serve more than 5,000 individuals from Greater Boston’s diverse and vibrant communities every year. More information is available at www.ibaboston.org or Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, TikTok or YouTube.