Haitian Americans will gather in the shadows of the Zakim Bridge next to TD Garden next Monday (May 20) from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. for a kickoff ceremony for the new cultural center named for Haiti’s revolutionary hero, Toussaint Louverture. The center, which will occupy a 2,000-square-foot ground level space at Lovejoy Wharf, is a milestone for the Haitian community in Greater Boston.

Monday’s event comes in the middle of Haitian Heritage Month and one day after the Haitian Unity Parade in Mattapan and Dorchester. It is also marks Louverture’s 281st birthday.

“We’ve been talking about this a long time and now here it is – we’re just about there,” said Wilner Auguste, president of Haitian Americans United (HAU). “I feel very glad and have to thank the Haitian community for writing so many letters of support to the committee last year to make sure we were chosen over three other very good proposals.”

The Haitian-themed center won a competitive bid to lease the space through the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) last September. A volunteer committee formed by HAU is still in the planning and fundraising stages and hope the event on May 20 will super-charge a campaign to open the center this year.

“We have identified an architect and have the design in mind, but now we’re really focused on securing our contractor,” said Dr. Elizabeth Farrah. “It’s a groundbreaking and not a grand opening, which we believe will be later this year.”

The event will feature key members of the Haitian American community from Boston, Everett, Worcester, Randolph, and other areas. Leaders of other ethnic cultural centers will also be in attendance, as will elected officials. The gathering is seen as a chance to spread the story of Louverture and Haitian history and culture.

Killion Mokwete, an architect from the Social Impact Collective, will talk about the concept and the design of the center. There will be a walk-through to preview ideas for the unfinished space, located on the ground floor of a building constructed by Related Beal a few years ago.
The center space, believed to be the first of its kind in the US, abuts commercial tenants like Alcove Restaurant, Night Shift Brewery, and the Converse world headquarters, and faces the water on Lovejoy Wharf, steps from the Orange Line and TD Garden.

“This will be the first Toussaint Louverture Center in New England for sure,” said Farrah Louis, a member of the committee. “I think it’s an incredible time to do this because we can show the different ways Haitians have contributed so much to the areas of American history.”

HAU’s proposal came with a $50,000 stipend to help with the build-out and a 25-year rent-free lease, which is good start, but just a first step.

The center will act first as a year-round, daily tourist visitor’s center open to the public, but will also serve as a cultural center with programming, exhibitions, a library, a gift shop, and other amenities celebrating the Haitian culture – with Greater Boston boasting the third largest Haitian community outside of the island nation.

Part of the business plan includes the Haitian Artists Assembly to promote Haitian art, poetry, and dance exhibitions – which are now often placed in odd locations like Logan Airport, and to have private rentals in the evening to assist the revenue stream. Success will also be found in hiring an executive director who can excel at private fundraising.

That is the task now, to get enough money to build out the dream that has long just been talk. For many, the ceremony on May 20 puts an end to the talk, and the beginning of something real.

“It’s a beacon for Boston and the region as well,” said Louis.