Casa Taft 169 Inc. is a domestic non profit organization that promotes the rescue of abandoned and public nuisance structures for the benefit of the community, being itself an example of that. It was an abandoned structure for 40 years, rehabilitated for and by the people from the community since 2013 and serving today as a civic center for the surrounding community. The problem of abandoned and blighted structures in Puerto Rico results in displacement, gentrification and deterioration of the economic, cultural and personal ties in a neighborhood. Hence, it is important to invest in the existing community to restore the neighborhood’s fabric and allow for the residents’ security and well being. The rescue process of the house #169 included the advocacy for new legislation, the success of having the Municipality of San Juan to agree to transfer the property title to the organization Casa Taft 169 Inc. (legal process not yet completed), and the rehabilitation of the structure that included a new roof, new terraces and a new space layout that accommodates the current civic center services.

After experiencing hurricanes Irma and María in Puerto Rico, the rehabilitation of the structure and its infrastructure was planned with sustainability and resiliency principles in mind, for example maximizing the reuse of materials, designing for future compatibility with photovoltaic systems, rainwater harvesting, natural lighting and natural ventilation, among others. The idea of the design of the house was to provide a public space for the neighborhood to use and, at the same time, to become a resiliency hub in case of an emergency. The Phase 1 of the project -from advocacy, data investigation and designing and construction- was funded by a prize received from ArtPlace America within their 10 years of philanthropic efforts.

This pilot project pursues to demonstrate that communities’ benefit from the re vitalization of their neighborhood and that the reuse of existing buildings is feasible. Building reuse is the environmentally preferred option for new construction. The project is conceived through participatory design processes and its collective ownership model is presented as a tool for communities to confront the pressures of private capital, displacement, and gentrification.