The National Urban League is moving its headquarters to Harlem, the neighborhood where it was founded in 1910, and will open New York’s first museum dedicated to the American civil rights movement and one of the few in the country focused on the struggle in the North.
The organization was founded in 1910 in the neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, but its headquarters are today in Lower Manhattan. Returning to its roots, the National Urban League will spotlight the influence of the Harlem Renaissance on the civil rights movement at its museum, among other exhibits.
For its president, Marc H. Morial, the move is more than a financial decision. It’s an opportunity for the civil rights organization, dedicated to the economic empowerment of urban communities, to practice what it preaches.
“When we started thinking about where we wanted to locate and whether we wanted to buy or build, Harlem was always my first choice because that’s where we were born,” Mr. Morial said. “But also because for a mission-driven organization, the office space is more than just a place to work. It’s being part of a community. It’s all about impact. It’s about working with partners and others you’re symbiotic with.”
The new headquarters will anchor a 17-story mixed-use development called the Urban Empowerment Center, on the block of 125th Street flanked by Malcolm X and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. avenues. The organization will use 81,000 square feet of space in the center for its offices and the new Civil Rights Museum on the fourth floor. The museum will feature a cafe, a 300-seat auditorium and 12,000 feet of exhibition space. In addition to the Harlem Renaissance, the museum will explore the transatlantic slave trade and the Great Migration.
“The National Civil League is unique among civil rights organizations in that it was founded in the North to help African-American immigrants crossing from the South to the North to find work, housing, dignity, and political and economic power,” Mr. Morial said. . he said.
The remaining 414,000 square feet of the development is for offices, retail and 171 affordable housing units. The Studio Museum in Harlem, the United Negro College Fund and One Hundred Black Men will have offices in the building, and Virginia Union University will have an administrative center for recruitment, alumni engagement and educational support services. The retail space is already 95 percent leased, with Target, Sephora and Trader Joe’s among the tenants.
The project is led by Taconic Partners, The Prusik Group, L+M Development Partners and BRP Companies, all experienced developers known for tailoring projects to local communities.
These interviews have been edited for clarity.
Marc H. Morial, president of the National Urban League;
We took on a project that many said couldn’t be done and did it on a site where multiple concepts had been developed and failed over the past 30 to 40 years. We invest in the community. This is a $250 million project that will create jobs and make an impact.
There are many layers here. We wanted to make a strong statement and we wanted to do it with action. And I wanted to show that you can build in a community like Harlem a first class building. attracting first class retail; Use a mix of minority developers, contractors, and more. works with premier retailers and investors; brings city and state together as partners; Combine retail with affordable housing. and to do so with a cultural component as well.
Michael J. Garner, director on One Hundred Black Men
Our mission is education, mentoring, economic development and health and wellness. These are our four pillars. The One Hundred Blacks are 175 of the most powerful black people in this region, including former mayors, serving U.S. Congressmen, city councilmen, business leaders, government officials and educators. We see ourselves as the solution to the issues affecting the Black community here in New York City.
Being located in a state-of-the-art building on the historic 125th Street corridor enables us to create an innovative venture capital for one hundred black men. But it also enables us to work together with the National Urban League and develop our synergies.
Chris Losco, senior vice president of Taconic Partners;
The commitment of the National Urban League really helped make this project happen. It wouldn’t be possible without them. We are very excited that he will be the anchor and an amazing co-tenant to build around.
125th Street is one of the nation’s historic cultural and retail corridors. To participate in, hopefully, add to it and enhance it, not only through those retail and commercial uses, but also through the cultural uses like the civil rights museum and the Studio Museum and the work they’re doing to help in educating and celebrating the past, present, and future of the Black experience in America is pretty cool.
Meredith Marshall, co-founder and managing partner of BRP Companies;
It is thankfully a 100 percent low-income building by HUD’s own definition. We partnered with a group called New York Foundling, which focuses on helping people who have aged out of foster care find housing. Fifty one units are leased here for them. This is an underserved group of people. They need services and support.
Lisa Gomez, managing director of L+M Development Partners
We love complex public-private partnerships. I personally feel that these are the most interesting places to be able to work. This project was like a Jenga puzzle. It is a complex building because you have to combine many different uses, such as leaving stairs and open floor slabs for the museum and creating units for housing.
Our company’s goal was to activate 125th Street, which, especially during the pandemic, has lost a lot of ground floor retail. We hope that this project can replace some of the vibrancy that was lost or extinguished during the pandemic.