When the EPACENTER youth development center in East Palo Alto, Calif., opened its doors in April, young people could sing out in voice class, learn to play the drums, hone their skateboarding skills, shimmy during high-energy dance instruction, and more.
Funded by the John & Marcia Goldman Foundation, the 25,000-square-foot center was more than a decade in the making. Students were involved every step of the way. Early on, they surveyed peers to find out what young people wanted, says Nadine Rambeau, the organization’s executive director.
“They wanted a place where they could come together, make art, be creative, celebrate their talents, and celebrate their cultural heritage,” she says. “And the thing is, that did not exist before the center.”
Despite being close to the prosperity of Silicon Valley, East Palo Alto struggles with poverty and a scarcity of opportunities. Rambeau says the students who helped guide the center’s creation were conscious of the sometimes-negative perception people have about their city.
The name the young people chose — EPACENTER — draws on the city’s initials and is a play on the word “epicenter.” They also asked the architects to include lots of glass in the building’s design, something Rambeau says is unusual in buildings for students, especially students of color. More often, she says, there’s a lot of concrete.
“The students said those buildings feel like prisons to us. We want to feel like people can see us. We can see out. We can be seen doing positive things,” Rambeau says. “I think it shows up in the name as well, trying to center East Palo Alto and center themselves in a positive way.”
Donor John Goldman says he’s been consistently impressed by the decisions young people have made. One example is their insistence that the center be built to meet LEED Platinum certification for sustainability — something that surprised him at first.
“Then they explained it and said, ‘You know, sustainability has many facets in its definition. We want a building that’s sustainable ecologically but also sustainable in our community. And the two are tied together,’” he says. “All their decisions have been thoughtful and deep and insightful.”
