The BASE, a youth sports and enrichment program, has purchased its headquarters building on Shirley Street in the Newmarket section of Boston next to Dorchester’s South Bay with plans to expand its operations on adjacent land.

Steph Lewis, the organization’s CEO, says the buy is a step toward making this part of the city “a hub” for youth sports in the city. “Ownership allows us to envision what’s possible,” he said in an interview with The Reporter.

With Roxbury Prep High School set to open next door in 2025 – and with city plans to refurbish two baseball fields and the basketball courts on Clifford Park moving ahead – Lewis is bullish on the potential.

The BASE has leased the space it occupies at 150 Shirley Street since 2019, when it moved from Egleston Square.

“We’re just in a great position of opportunity,” he said. “The fact is just four or five years ago the media portrayed this area as a no-go zone because of Mass and Cass. … Newmarket can be a cultural destination for young people and that’s all in just 7.5 acres of land.”

The BASE uses sports and career-focused programs to engage young people and help them develop athletically and educationally – with a large portion of them coming from Dorchester, Roxbury and Mattapan. They offer baseball and softball programming on site in their building, and conduct basketball off-site, with off-field supports in academics, college readiness, career counseling, and health and wellness in the building as well.

Lewis said they received word on Dec. 25, 2023, that their landlord planned to sell the building, but would extend their lease to give them some stability. They were also welcomed to try to purchase the property – but any deal had to be made by July.

“We felt it was important to be owner of our space so that we could determine our future,” he said. “We also want to be involved in telling the narrative about what’s great in this neighborhood.”

With that, they began to call their network of supporters and came up big with a $1.5 million grant from the Yawkey Foundation – hence the facility’s name: “Yawkey Urban Sports Complex – Home of The BASE.” Additional key contributors include Sandy & Paul Edgerley, Barbara & Amos Hostetter, Anne Lovett & Steve Woodsum, Tristin & Martin Mannion, Brooke & Will Muggia, Dana & Rob Smith, Stephanie & Brian Spector, The Boston Foundation, Eastern Bank, and several anonymous donors.
Ownership will also allows Lewis and his staff to double down on introducing and strengthening baseball and softball in predominantly Black and Brown communities where the sport has lagged in gaining interest. Lewis believes that is because of the high cost of entry, which is a barrier they will knock down.

“Youth sports are so expensive now, and especially baseball,” he said. “One thing is that there isn’t much baseball happening in Roxbury. There’s some youth softball in our area, but there’s no roots of softball in Roxbury. We want to continue changing that and continue supporting that.”

Now that they own the building, and should have it paid off fully in 2025, Lewis said there is no telling what the future holds. “That basepath has yet to be run,” he said.

“There is the potential expansion of our space,” he added. “If we want to in the future, we can do construction and expand our entire space. We could build up. There’s so much potential with what we can do. It’s a great opportunity to be able to consider what will come next for us.”