TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – After months of anticipation and careful renovation, the Dunbar Pavilion has opened the doors of its new Business Empowerment Center.
The community hub is designed to ensure Black-owned businesses don’t just survive in Tucson but build a legacy that lasts for decades to come.
“This space has been carefully rebuilt, piece by piece,” said Freda Marshall, executive director of the Dunbar Pavilion during the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Once Tucson’s only segregated school, the century-old Dunbar Pavilion is now a resource center for the city’s African American community.
The $1.1 million project renovated a portion of the historic campus, built in 1943, into a small business hub featuring professional workspaces and meeting areas.
“Our goal was not to erase the history, but to honor it while creating a space that serves the needs of today’s small businesses and entrepreneurs,” Marshall said.
Inside, a former locker room has been transformed into conference and meeting spaces intended to support entrepreneurs and startups that may not yet have a storefront.
“This is going to be a place for people to learn business. How to write a business plan, how to seek business funding, and be able to collaborate as a community,” Marshall said.
The space provides entrepreneurs with various resources and networking opportunities. The goal would be for them to eventually graduate from using the space to signing a lease for their own brick-and-mortar location.
The project was funded in part through a Community Development Block Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and was administered by the City of Tucson.
Congresswoman Adelita Grijalva attended the opening and said she’s eager to see what comes next.
“I can’t wait to see the projects, investments, businesses that come out of this space,” Grijalva said.
Marshall and Grijalva both pointed to the late Congressman Raúl Grijalva as instrumental in initiating the federal funding that helped make the renovation possible, calling the center a continuation of decades of community investment.
“It’s a culmination of a lot of work,” Grijalva said. “Decades of work.”
All of the time and dedication that has gone into making the center possible will ensure that the next generation of Black entrepreneurs has a permanent place to grow.
The Dunbar Pavilion Business Empowerment Center is expected to be open for use Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the coming days.
Follow the Dunbar Pavilion’s website for the latest information on how to utilize the space for your business needs.
A deeper history behind the walls
To understand the legacy and power the building possesses, you have to go back in time to understand its history.
Following statehood in 1912, the Arizona Constitution mandated that African American children attend segregated schools.
Tucson’s first African American school, known only as the “Colored School,” established in 1913, was held in the back of the former Stonecypher Bakery at 215 East 6th Street and was under the direction of principal Cicero Simmons. Today, the building is a marijuana dispensary.
By 1918, Tucson’s African American students were moved to the then newly constructed Dunbar School off West 2nd Street. It served as the city’s only segregated school for more than three decades.
In 1952, Dunbar School was integrated and renamed John Spring Junior High.
Today, the more than 100-year-old building located at 325 West 2nd Street, serves as the center for several programs and resources that support Tucson’s African American community.
Classrooms are used as meeting spaces and the auditorium can be rented out for various gatherings.
The nonprofit relies on grants and donations to keep the lights on.
If you are interested in donating to the Dunbar Pavilion, visit their website.
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