The Metro: Nonprofit seeks to create community hub in former Corktown school site
Kintsugi Village founders Paul Spiegelman and Hamsa Daher joined the show to discuss their vision for the space.
Kintsugi Village, located in the former St. Vincent Middle School in Corktown, aims to provide education, training and resources to the local community.
A local nonprofit is working to transform a former school property in Corktown into a community hub that will house an early childhood education program, host artist residencies and more.
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Co-founded by Paul Spiegelman and Hamsa Daher, Kintsugi Village aims to offer a “unique blend” of educational opportunities for Detroit families, from arts and culinary experiences and a community garden to events and programming promoting wellness and personal growth.
The initiative will be located in the former St. Vincent Middle School in Corktown, with plans to open the early childhood center by September 2025.
Spiegelman and Daher joined The Metro on Wednesday to discuss the project and what inspired it.
“After going through a really tough personal time about a year and a half ago, we sat around at the DIA one day and talked about maybe doing something new, and Hamsa was ready to take on a new challenge as well,” Spiegelman said. “We thought maybe there’s a way we could help in Detroit and help in a local neighborhood, bring the community together. And that’s where the inspiration started to pull all these initiatives together.”
The pair will hold a community meeting at 6 p.m. Dec. 2 at McShane’s in Corktown to discuss their plans for the community hub and share additional details about the early education program and tuition costs.
For more information about Kintsugi Village, visit kintsugivillage.org.
Use the media player above to hear the full conversation with Spiegelman and Daher.
More stories from The Metro on Nov. 27, 2024:
- State Rep. Dylan Wegela and Downtown Detroit Partnership CEO Eric Larson joined the show to discuss GM and Bedrock’s redevelopment plan for the Renaissance Center and its $1.6 billion price tag.
- Filmmaker Tom Brown was diagnosed with HIV when he was just 18 years old. His 2016 feature film “Pushing Dead” — a dark comedy about an HIV-positive struggling writer — is inspired by his own personal journey coping with the disease for decades. Brown, who recently moved to Detroit, joined The Metro to talk about a screening of the film he’s organizing for World AIDS Day at the Senate Theater this Sunday.
- The way we string our sentences together with the metaphors or similes that we use to enrich a conversation can often change an individual or move a nation for better or for worse. Detroit’s poet laureate, jessica Care moore, joined the show to talk about reaching people where they are in the community or with their personal growth.
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