TSNE has always believed that nonprofits deserve high-quality, well-maintained, and economical office environments. The NonProfit Center (NPC), located in the heart of Downtown Boston’s historic Leather District, is one of the first buildings of its kind that allows nonprofits to do exactly that.
As a mission-based, multi-tenant building, the NPC provides more than just an accessible and affordable space; it also provides a mission-aligned community and cultural environment that fosters connection and community among its members, the nonprofit sector, and Greater Boston as a whole.
Meeting a Sector Need
In 2001, TSNE saw an opportunity to support more organizations through owning and operating a building to provide a home for small nonprofits to support their work towards their visions, and to house itself.
Jonathan Spack, TSNE’s CEO at the time, hired a program developer to bolster TSNE’s capacity to manage real estate by coming up with an innovative solution that aligned a stable financial model with TSNE’s mission and programs. They headed to a first-of-its-kind national conference in San Francisco hosted by Tides, another large fiscal sponsor, for those interested in creating multi-tenant, nonprofit office spaces.
After networking with other successful nonprofit landlords, the team realized that it was not enough to buy a building and control the space and costs. Instead, they understood that to meet the needs of the sector, they had to be explicit about the “why” and establish goals for owning and leasing property that aligned with TSNE’s overall mission as a capacity building organization.
To ensure this alignment with TSNE’s larger mission, they developed a specific three-part vision:
- Provide a high-quality space for social change nonprofits at affordable, stable prices
- Foster collaboration among the center’s tenants and the larger community
- Increase the credibility and visibility of nonprofits advocating for social progress
With this vision in mind, TSNE surveyed partners to determine their requirements for moving to a new leased space and found that affordability, sustainable design, and proximity to Downtown Boston and public transportation were the highest priorities of potential tenants.
Searching for the Perfect Space
While looking for a building to fulfill the requirements of the partner organizations surveyed, the team stumbled upon 89 South Street, just a block away from South Station, a transportation hub in Boston. An architecturally distinct building built in 1899 that is on the National Register of Historic Places, the 200,000 square foot building was previously owned by a large union pension fund and used by many tech startups as office space.
To finance the building, TSNE applied for an $18.5 million tax-exempt bond and a short-term bridge loan. In total, the entire project cost about $25 million — $17 million of which was for the building and $8 million for the gut renovation. In 2004, the NonProfit Center was completed.
Designed for Nonprofits, by a Nonprofit
During this renovation, one of TSNE’s main priorities was to create a green design that promoted sustainable practices while also preserving the building’s historic architectural features. Using environmentally preferred designs and materials, TSNE realized its vision to restore the building for the future. Additionally, the building gained an Energy Star Certification from the United States Environmental Protection Agency and was certified in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) by the United States Green Building Council. Today, the building continues to prioritize sustainability by recycling or composting at least 75% of its waste, encouraging tenants to ride their bikes to work through the creation of a bike room and showers, and using high-efficiency lights and HVAC systems.
In October of 2005, after the initial renovation was completed, the first tenants of the NPC moved in. Despite high demand for space, the building was only about 45% occupied when its doors opened, attributed to the soft real estate market at the time. This lower occupancy rate also stemmed from TSNE remaining committed to its vision of creating a community of mission-driven nonprofits working for social change by selectively choosing the building’s new tenants to align with its vision.
By spring 2008, the building reached 90% occupancy and was able to cover its own operating expenses as a self-sustaining business entity. In 2012, the NPC reached 100% occupancy and has not fallen below 96% occupancy since. Although the COVID-19 pandemic brought its own changes and challenges, tenants previously enjoyed a local and organic cafe on the first floor, alongside educational and social networking events put on by TSNE to help support organizations forwarding their missions together.
What Partners Have to Say
Today, the NPC houses over 50 nonprofit and mission-based organizations and hosts visitors from hundreds more organizations each year, continuing to pride itself on offering nonprofits office and meeting spaces at below-market rates. When speaking about the NPC, Chief Financial and Operations Officer Peter Loeb of Girls on the Run Greater Boston, a tenant since 2016, said:
“I tell everyone I get to work here, nonprofit or for-profit. The idea of it is amazing to me… It is the best thing going for nonprofits: money goes toward the mission rather than asking donors to pay for rent.”
If NPC tenants had to pay market-rates, up to two or three times as much as they do at the NPC, Peter says that they “would have to make different decisions.” Instead, the NPC allows Girls on the Run of Greater Boston to spend their time and money focusing on what’s important: providing more sneakers and scholarships to its young participants, changing lives for the better.
Alongside its affordable prices, tenants of the NPC love all the newly renovated, state-of-the-art conference rooms that can accommodate groups of any size. Open, rentable space that fits several hundred people is hard to find in Boston, especially at an affordable rate. TSNE makes it easy for nonprofits to use their spaces, equipping them with projectors, speakers, microphones, mobile furniture, Wi-Fi, kitchens, and other multimedia equipment.
David Sullivan, Executive Director of the Forest Foundation, started using the NPC to host meetings for its growing summer program back in 2014 because it is “set up for professional workshops” and in a “convenient and equitable” location.
Tenant Laurie Fitzpatrick, Chief Executive Officer of the Gestalt International Study Center (GISC), echoed this sentiment, as the NPC allowed her to move from being somewhat isolated in a building in Cape Cod to Downtown Boston, making it far more accessible for her employees and clients.
A Special Space with Special People
Every tenant interviewed for this blog all had one more thing in common: they believed that the people made the place. Unlike most property service companies whose aim is to maximize profit, TSNE’s Property Services team is focused on maximizing the values and missions of its nonprofit clients. Understanding the urgency of nonprofit work, the team supports nonprofits by providing rapid responses to work orders, a diverse multilingual staff, lease management guidance, preventative maintenance, and property consultations so that nonprofit staff can focus on their missions, not on property management.
TSNE not only owns and manages the NPC, but it also manages other properties including The Link, 99 Bishop Allen Drive, The Foundry, the New England Board of Higher Education, and The Possible Zone. Altogether, the properties managed by TSNE can accommodate almost any nonprofit, no matter what stage of growth they are in, and help them expand their mission and organization by providing the highest quality spaces and services.
More Than a Workplace
Through its hard work and perseverance over the past two and a half decades, TSNE has realized its vision to become a leading social change property manager in Boston. Over the years, it has fostered a vibrant community of nonprofits working together to make the world a better place for us all. As TSNE Chief Executive Officer Elaine Ng states, “The NonProfit Center is more than just a space for nonprofits; it’s a home and a community.”
Learn more about The NonProfit Center and TSNE’s Property Services. Together, we can create a more just society in spaces built by and for nonprofits.