What is Keeping Small Strong?

Union Square Main Streets is grateful for the City of Somerville’s investment in your community by awarding USMS an ARPA-funded grant to embark on a pilot project called Keeping Small Strong: a sustainable path forward for recovery + resilience from July 2023 to September 2024.

ARPA: American Rescue Plan Act—legislation passed by Congress providing economic relief to address impacts of the pandemic.

Who does the pilot serve?

This pilot project was a journey for USMS, local business leaders, nonprofit community partners, property owners, employees, employers, the City, and folx who #LoveUnionSquare like you to go on together.

What inspired Keeping Small Strong?

After chatting with more than 500 Union Square community members for our most recent strategic plan, we learned that folx deeply #LoveUnionSquare and feel protecting the character and connectivity of your community is more critical than ever during this immense period of transformation.

Your priorities included:

• Multilingual wayfinding to make Union Square more welcoming, attractive and increase its walkability 

• Increased community connections with local businesses to strengthen your neighborhood’s resilience and pandemic recovery 

• Enhanced collaboration with nonprofit partners dedicated to equitable economic opportunity enable us to serve more vulnerable members of our community

Your feedback has driven USMS to expand the impact of our equitable, place-keeping, and partnership-focused programs. Thank you for helping co-create USMS’ future service to Union Square. 

There are many types of business models that USMS could grow into to offer these services, but based on your feedback so far, the best fit might be a Business Improvement District (BID).

What is a BID?

A dynamic partnership between community, property owners, and businesses to bolster the economic and social vitality of a neighborhood through supplement services.

The focus of Keeping Small Strong is supporting small businesses owned by and who employ people disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.

BIDs provide a unified voice on issues that are important to the neighborhood and are specific to the needs of that community.

So what does this have to do with Keeping Small Strong?

From July 2023 to September 2024, Keeping Small Strong gave the neighborhood the ability to “try out” some of the services a BID would provide while we learn alongside each other if it’s the right fit.

Want to know which businesses are in the Square and learn the stories of the people behind them?

• Read about business leaders’ passion for community in the stories shared in the Union Square insider’s Guide

• Try your hand at a family favorite recipe

• Attend Square events happening throughout the year

• And don’t forget to say hi when you see these folx around the Square!

You’re in the Square, now where do you go?

• Starting fall 2024, look for multilingual wayfinding signs that will help guide you along your way

Thank You for Co-Creating this Journey

100+ business leaders, neighbors, property owners, and folks who #LoveUnionSquare gathered together on the 7th floor of 10 Prospect Street to overlook the grand views of Union Square and wait for a bell to ring. 

At the sound, folks split into groups and began their discussions. The big questions?

• How much in grant and crowd-funded capital has USMS’ Small Business Liaison secured?

• How many times has the Keeping Small Strong Outreach Ambassador assisted an unsheltered neighbor?

• How can USMS sustain their program services to continue serving your rapidly-growing neighborhood?

Over salad and casabe from Carolicious, samosas from Masala Square, alfajores from Machu Picchu, and falafel from Jules Catering, neighbors worked together to answer these questions, share their priorities with the USMS team, mark their memories with magnets, try their hand at Union Square Insider’s Guide trivia, and more.  

Thank you to the many of you who came to the Keeping Small Strong Reflect + Refine Community Workshop to share your thoughts on what will ensure Union continues to thrive and hear from your neighbors about what they’re thinking too. 

The feedback and co-creation of this pilot from over 1600+ of you we heard from during Keeping Small Strong have been invaluable. 

Keeping Small Strong Steering Committee

Jen Palacio, Chair
Tiny Turns Paperie, USMS Board Member

Sheila Borges-Foley
The Neighborhood

Mary Cassesso
Resident, USMS Board Member

Ken Gasse
NU Kitchen

Mike Katz
Resident, USMS Board Member

Kristin Phelan
Somernova

Gonzalo Puigbó
Somerville Community Corporation

Elan Sassoon
Union 346

Jessica Eshleman
USMS Executive Director