With the opening earlier this year of the Southtown Lofts in Grand Rapids, MI, Dione Boles says people have already started asking her what she’s going to do next. “We are already doing so many things, I’m not sure how we’d find time for more,” she remarks with a laugh before launching into potential plans for a community kitchen, a street beautification project along the Martin Luther King Eastern Corridor, and the development of additional affordable housing.
Boles’ drive to invest in and give back to the community across a wide range of projects is exemplified in the Southtown Lofts. Developed and operated by Larlen Communications (Larlen)—the nonprofit Boles leads as executive director—the lofts provide 12 affordable rental homes to residents earning 60 to 120 percent of the Area Median Income. Adding to the project’s positive impact, the mixed-use facility also houses Larlen’s offices, studio space for Larlen’s nonprofit radio station and a youth broadcast academy, classrooms to support the organization’s programming, and retail space for local businesses.
“Larlen is providing affordable housing while creating a hub for youth education, media training, and community engagement. It will expand access to career pathways, amplify local voices through broadcasting, and support economic growth along the corridor.”
“Larlen is providing affordable housing while creating a hub for youth education, media training, and community engagement,” explains Boles. “It will expand access to career pathways, amplify local voices through broadcasting, and support economic growth along the corridor.”
Through the Michigan Affordable Housing Loan Program, IFF provided a $3.975 million loan to Larlen to facilitate the development of Southtown Lofts, which is helping to address a pressing need for more affordable housing options in Grand Rapids. Additional sources of funding and financing for the $5.1 million project—Larlen’s first development—included a Michigan Revitalization and Placemaking Grant, a Michigan Neighborhood Grant, a Local Brownfield Revolving Fund Grant, and a Redevelopment Ready Communities Grant.
Boles’ background in broadcast media, including 20 years on the air for WWSJ-AM in Lansing, led her to WDPW, Power 91.9 FM, Larlen’s radio station. The station’s mission to provide inspiration to Grand Rapids residents was the catalyst for Larlen’s youth broadcasting academy, NexGen Media GR. The afterschool program teaches local young people a variety of skills to help them pursue careers in broadcast communications, including radio, podcasting, digital multimedia, and television. In addition to classroom instruction, participants in the academy receive practical, hands-on training in the separate on-site audio and video recording studios.
“We created the NexGen Media GR platform in order to teach the next generation the power of their voice,” says Boles. “It’s so rewarding to work with these kids and see them develop the skills that will help them embrace not only the power of their own voice, but to also uplift the voices of their community. By developing a viable, purpose-driven space, we’re creating economic, housing, and educational opportunities that show what community-led development can look like.”
Watch the video below to learn more about the positive impact of Larlen’s Southtown Lofts development.