Photos by Ralph Freso / Slideshow
The smiling faces of schoolchildren, neighborhood residents, college students, politicians and police brightened a plot of grass just a few hundred feet from an area once known for prostitution and neglect.
“This is a big day,” Grand Canyon University President Brian Mueller told an energized crowd at the Renewal on 27th Ave. on Tuesday at GCU's complex near Camelback Road.
The 27Collab, a neighborhood coalition that united to push back against crime in the area, celebrated the momentum of its 80 community groups, which worked alongside the Phoenix Police Department to make the area a safer place, with potential for beautification and business opportunities.
“This area suffered from neglect for so many years, but this is the season of transformation, and the momentum is going forward,” said Marvin Scott, co-chair of the Berkley Square Neighbors, who has witnessed neighborhood improvements that have included alley cleanups and speed bumps.
The centerpiece of that momentum is GCU’s new Public Safety Dispatch and Real Time Operations Center on 27th Avenue, a onetime transmission shop and tavern that now will provide working space for city of Phoenix police officers and enhanced safety measures for GCU students, as well as the neighborhood.
GCU alumnus and City Hope Central Phoenix manager KJ Gould delivered the opening prayer at the event, and students from Alhambra Traditional School sang the national anthem, followed by the GCU Thundering Heard Pep Band’s rendition of "God Bless America."
“I wanted to start off with the singers and students at Alhambra Traditional School, because this is primarily about children,” said Mueller, adding that the area around Camelback and Bethany Home roads and 27th Avenue is home to 32,000 students who attend such schools as Alhambra Traditional, St. Simon, St. Jude and Synergy Charter.
“This is a hotbed of Arizona's future talent, a hotbed of Arizona's future leadership," he said.
Since becoming university president 16 years ago, one of Mueller’s missions is for GCU to become a strong neighbor. That vision has included improving the neighborhood around 27th Avenue known for decades as “the Track.”
“There was illegal activity going on every other corner. There was a hotel that was the center of an international syndicate of sex traffickers that sat right in the background of Alhambra Traditional School, where kids are getting educated,” Mueller said.
“One of the things that we have to do is acknowledge that the people that live here have the same rights as the people who live at 24th Street and Camelback Road. The students that are here have the same right to live in a safe neighborhood and a safe environment.”
Phoenix Vice Mayor Ann O’Brien, whose grandparents lived near GCU when it was known as Grand Canyon College, described the collective efforts as a “boulder” dropped into a lake and causing a ripple effect.
“Our children, as President Mueller said, deserve a safe community, and that's what this building and this partnership with Phoenix Police Department will provide us,” she said.
The foundation for enhancing the safety of the neighborhood for children, families and businesses started about eight years ago.
Dana Drew Shaw, GCU’s vice president of external affairs and government relations, credited Mueller as the catalyst for change and having a vision of how the community can transform for the better.
That mission gained traction, thanks to the persistent efforts of several dozen people in the community, and the ability of Andrea Northup, GCU’s assistant director of state and community relations, to “anchor those efforts,” which resulted in the formation of the 27Collab in April.
“A lot of people say that they want to partner with the police, and we'll have meetings,” Phoenix Interim Police Chief Michael Sullivan said. “But they are not willing to invest and step forward and put in the blood, sweat and tears, along with the Phoenix Police Department and the city of Phoenix. It is unparalleled what GCU has done.
“Everyone here should be proud of that, because you're part of the change that is happening.”
Mueller reported that neighborhood crime has dipped by 34% in the last five years, and violent crime is down by 20% in the last two years.
The group of local leaders meets with GCU leaders twice a year, reviewing strategy and how to carry it out.
“We have our own security force at GCU, and our campus is safe, and we're grateful for that,” Mueller said. “But the people that live in this neighborhood are really good people. They have great families. They're very hard working. This is a neighborhood of immigrants, and they're trying to make their way in America, and we need to create a safe environment for them to do that.”
Alhambra Traditional Principal Andrew Feight expressed his support for the resources poured into the neighborhood.
“For too long, this community has been forced to counter the falsehood that our schools are not safe for them,” Feight said. “Today needs a new turning point. Today needs to give us a chance to highlight the truth that our community provides safe and high-quality educational opportunities for children."
The 27th Avenue neighborhood was once so bad that Luis Gastelum believed it would be safer to train for high school cross country around Bethany Home Road and Central Avenue.
But on the advice of his coach, Gastelum – who moved five times in five years – learned about GCU’s Canyon Rising scholarship program and the Learning Lounge for local schoolchildren looking for tutoring help from 3-8 p.m.
Gastelum is now a freshman at GCU majoring in accounting, thanks to the university’s resources. Gastelum is one of about 1,000 local high schoolers who have earned a Canyon Rising scholarship.
“As an athlete, I also appreciate the meal plan that comes with the housing,” Gastelum said with a smile.
“As I stand here today, I'm reminded of those grueling cross-country races, like those races are full of hills and valleys, unexpected turns and moments when you feel like you can’t go on,” Gastelum said. “But just as I learned to pace myself and push through the pain on the track, that Canyon Rising scholarship has taught me to navigate the challenges of life, with determination and purpose.
The people that live in this neighborhood are really good people. They have great families. They're very hard working. This is a neighborhood of immigrants, and they're trying to make their way in America, and we need to create a safe environment for them to do that.
Brian Mueller, Grand Canyon University president
“And now I say near the end of our spring semester, I realize that this is just the beginning of a new race where I'm better equipped, stronger and ready to inspire others as I've been inspired.”
As comfortable as Tuesday’s celebration was under sunny skies and a light breeze, Mueller envisions more prosperity around 27th Avenue.
“This is not the ninth inning,” Mueller said. “This is maybe the top of the second. We're just getting started here. We have put $140 million into 27th Avenue over the last 10 to 12 years. The city is putting in millions of dollars going forward to beautify 27th Avenue. We are going to widen sidewalks. They're going to plant trees. I am going to meet with people who are interested in bringing businesses to 27th Avenue.
“We want to make it one of the most vibrant places in the world. It has that opportunity. It is America. When we (GCU leadership) came here 16 years ago, there were 42 different languages spoken in this neighborhood. Today it's 70, and they're coming from all over the world. And I think it would be just an unbelievable model for a Christian university to lead in bringing people together and sharing all of this space together, and especially to make this a place where young people want to be, want to go to school and want to live their lives, I think we're just getting started here.”
GCU News senior writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]
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Related GCU content:
GCU News: GCU, Habitat changing landscape of neighborhood revitalization
GCU News: GCU showcases revitalization efforts at relaunched 27th Avenue business complex
In the media:
ABC15 Arizona: GCU, Phoenix Police, other groups along 27th Avenue partner to fight area crime and prostitution
FOX 10 Phoenix: Grand Canyon University leaders collab with Phoenix to fight crime on 27th Avenue corridor
