What's unique about the house?

The Travis House has a unique origins story. The Travis House found its way to Project Neighborhood through the Gordon family, the namesake of Gordon Food Service. The Travis House was once the home of the Gordon family, and was donated to Calvin specifically for the PN program after major renovations. The Gordons were excited by the idea that their family home would be used for an intentional community. Thanks to the renovations, the Travis House is a beautiful home with dark wooden furniture and finishing that give off a high-quality, shabby-chic feel. Travis is 7 miles from Calvin’s campus on the north side of Grand Rapids. Five students, along with the mentors, can live in Travis.

What's interesting about your neighborhood?

Travis is located in the Creston Neighborhood which is at an interesting intersection of cultural and geographical change. (See also Nizhoni house’s answer to this question. We’re neighbors!) Local shops are at a walkable distance (shoutout to Frosty Boy ice cream shop!) and there is a variety of businesses from coin laundromats to party stores, to breweries to high-end local grocery stores. Creston is close to downtown Grand Rapids. And if you pay enough attention you can definitely see and feel gentrification happening, if not overnight, over the course of the year. It challenges Travis House members to ask questions about the geography, neighborhood, privilege, and our patterns of consuming.

What partnership opportunities exist in your neighborhood?

The Creston Neighborhood Association (CNA) comes to mind first, an organization that exists to make Creston a better neighborhood for all who live and work here. Students in the past have volunteered at CNA in creative and administrative capacities. We also have had connections to New City Neighbors and New City Urban Farm where students can volunteer with their after school programs or helping out with harvesting vegetables, respectively. North End Community Ministries’ food pantry has also been a place students can help out while meeting neighbors and becoming more integrated into the neighborhood.

Neighborhood