On September 19, our design team joined The Center for Teen Empowerment and state and local officials to celebrate the grand opening of the Barack and Michelle Obama Youth Center. The new headquarters anchors Teen Empowerment’s southwest neighborhood program site and supports its Rochester expansion, improving efficiency and growing its administrative infrastructure and capacity.
Since 2004, Teen Empowerment has employed Rochester youth as leaders, amplifying their voices, developing their skills, and positioning them as agents of change to uplift their community. The grand opening marked a significant milestone in the organization’s strategic plan to increase youth-led social change throughout Rochester. The event included a ceremonial ribbon-cutting, a youth performance, and tours of the facility.
True to its mission to focus on youth, Teen Empowerment tasked former and current youth leaders to lead the planning process. The SWBR design team met with several youth organizers in multiple sessions to understand what they wanted for the space and incorporated their input into the design. The building’s features include the Creation Station, a music and video production studio, for which Teen Empowerment is actively raising funds. It also houses a historical library, a meditation room, and both indoor and outdoor meeting and event spaces accommodating up to 150 people.
The completed project helped the non-profit organization grow from employing 24 young people and 13 adult staff at two sites in 2023, to over 50 young people and 17 adult staff at three sites this year. It is also the first new development on Genesee Street in decades, sending a message to the community’s young people that they are valued.
“Teens have important perspectives and the ability to build a better future if they’re given the opportunity to succeed,” said Rochester Mayor Malik D. Evans. “This new building is a great addition to The Center for Teen Empowerment’s ongoing efforts to cultivate the leadership and talents of our young people. It’s also a wonderful addition to this neighborhood and the city as a whole.”
The celebration included a symbolic ribbon-cutting ceremony, a youth performance, and tours of the new facility.
SWBR provided architecture, graphic design, interior design, landscape architecture, and structural engineering design services for the project.
Minority Reporter news story: https://bit.ly/47Glbyp
13WHAM news story: https://bit.ly/4diA5fx
Democrat and Chronicle: https://bit.ly/4gyLtqz