OWP’s comunidad campus: Fund, design, and sustainably build OWP’s forever home

We need your help

Please take a few seconds to sign our letter of support and ask your City Council Member to help us fund the construction of OWP's Comunidad Campus

Keep reading to learn more about our project!

A Brief History

OWP was founded in 2012, as a non-profit community-based organization with the aim of promoting cultural understanding and environmental sustainability through meaningful multilingual community, after school, camp, and early childhood education programs. We moved to 302 Vanderbilt Street in July of 2015, and lovingly restored and revitalized the former church building; it has become a vibrant space with a bountiful garden, and ample indoor and outdoor opportunities for exploration and discovery.

The Search for a new home

Unfortunately, our lease at 302 Vanderbilt Street comes to an end and will not be renewed in July of 2030. This means that to continue our important work, we must now find a new home. By a stroke of luck, in the summer of 2024 One World Project purchased 44 Seeley Street, a few blocks from our current location, with the ultimate goal of designing and building a new and permanent home for our families past, present, and future. We believe this challenge is an opportunity, and allows us the once-in-a-lifetime chance to build something from the ground up that can best meet the needs of our neighborhood and community.

What We’re building

As we consider all the ways that we want this new space to serve our community, One World Project’s dedication to socio-emotional learning, sustainability, and a connection to the natural environment are key points of inspiration. We are calling this new space a “campus” because we want it to encompass more than just a building. Rather, it will be a collection of learning spaces both indoors and outdoors that work together to create a home for our Welcoming Community of Learners, providing new opportunities for connection, collaboration, and discovery for all.

Preliminary plans for the Comunidad Campus include a community garden, a rooftop food lab, and plenty of space for outdoor exploration, as well as indoor classrooms with lots of natural light throughout that uphold OWP’s desire to make all children feel safe, welcome, and ready to learn.

We are exceptionally grateful to Rogers Partners Architects for their passion and incredibly hard work on the project thus far. We are thrilled to be working with such a talented team, and cannot wait for future collaboration.

timeline

2024

• May: One World Project purchases lot at 44 Seeley Street

• December: OWP hires Rogers Partners Architects to lead design and construction

2025

• January: Renderings and preliminary schematic drawings developed; OWP hosts listening sessions with neighbors and architects

• February: OWP submits application for public funds from NYC to support the Comunidad Campus

• July: Awards are granted, and public funds are made available to grantees

2026

• Permits applied for and secured

2027-29

• Construction begins, with work completed by the middle of 2029

2030

• Lease at 302 Vanderbilt ends, move to the Comunidad Campus at 44 Seeley Street complete!