Summer is half gone, and like most people I feel like it just started. Travel schedules have meant that at least one of us in the office has been gone every week since the Block Party in June. Turns out we’re women with places to go and people to see!!
Whatever mix of us is here each week has gravitated to the Community Room at 220 Sloan. We didn’t plan to decamp from The Hub, much less shift the new routines we were finally starting to embrace this past Spring. (See The Power of Partnership, March 2025.) It feels more like the season called for it.
We are keenly aware of the importance of keeping an active and consistent presence in the neighborhood. We’re committed to growing our connection with DHC residents and neighbors. Seeds planted need tending.
And so, summer has become a time for catching up and checking in. Drop-in visits from residents, from neighbors, from the merely curious are the order of the day. An afternoon hang on the porch often spools into hours of chatting with people sitting on nearby porches, swapping stories with people out for a walk, and shouting “hey” to passing drivers who slow to shout a greeting and share some news.
Being present and connected introduces an ebb and flow to our days that makes it a little harder to hammer out the steady volume of work that keeps the wheels turning. Our to-do list in summer doesn’t get any smaller. And, truthfully, much of that activity unfolds easiest in peace and quiet.
Our space at The Hub is just the place to get the head-down, nose-to-the-grindstone time we need. Here’s why none of us is flocking to that haven just now:
Successful, neighborhood-based, affordable development depends on striking an artful balance between managing cost-efficient operations and building community. One side of the equation demands that we bring hard-nosed dollars and cents analysis to the table, as well as a clear-eyed understanding of our niche market. The other side of the equation calls us to foster authentic relationships that enhance the quality of life for everyone who calls Davidson home. In short, our mission commits us to act like a neighbor, even as we think like a business.
Good gardeners read the seasons and respond to what the garden shows it needs. Right now, we’re maintaining the equilibrium in ours by being available. Fall is coming, a new school year will start, and current routines will give way to new ones. Like every garden in town, ours will call for different care and attention—and we’ll be there to find the right mix to sustain the spaces we’ve planted.
The lazy, hazy days of summer? It may seem so, but for us it’s a different kind of busy, and worth every single minute. Drop by one day and see for yourself.