Members of Gandhi Institute Celebrate Special Birthday

From the sidewalk, the house at 929 S. Plymouth Ave. looks like it’s seen many better days.

But Sunday, members of the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence picked this old house to celebrate the birthday of the man who inspires their work because next year this former abandoned crack house will be the home for the institute.

“We are celebrating Gandhi’s birthday — he was born Oct. 2, 1869,” said Kit Miller, institute director. “This was originally scheduled to be a house-warming party when we started rehabbing this house months ago, but it has been an abandoned house for the past 17 years and it needed a lot more work than anticipated.”

Mohandas K. Gandhi, more commonly known as Mahatma which means “great soul”, organized nonviolent protests that eventually freed India from British rule in 1947.

Named after Gandhi, the institute is a nonprofit organization that helps individuals and communities develop resources and practical skills to promote nonviolence. The organization also sponsors classes on nonviolence, mindful communication, sustainable living and restorative practices. It is currently based at the University of Rochester.

The new center, expected to be completed in December, will offer office for staff, a meeting area and rooms for visitors.

“But literally when we got in there it was filled with furniture with crack pipes on the floor and it was a crack house,” Miller said. “It’s actually looking beautiful to me right now.”

The century-old house is actually owned by David Skinner and David Knoll, who own 26 houses in the southwest neighborhood across the river from the University of Rochester. Skinner said he first came to the neighborhood in the 1970s as a UR student. After graduation he returned in the 1980s to Rochester and started investing, with partner Knoll, in the area.

“We are really delighted at the prospect of luring the Gandhi institute into the neighborhood,” said Knoll. “They wanted an urban community presence and we are looking to bring a positive energy to our neighborhood.”

The university has been promoting the area for students for the past several years. Neighborhood leaders are beginning to see changes in the area with new investment such as the Staybridge Suites hotel at Brooks Landing and the Gandhi Institute.

“Words cannot describe what is happening in this neighborhood,” said John Borek, co-chair of the Southwest Common Council. “It is transforming and it is a collaborative effort of many, many people.”

JBLACKWELL@DemocratandChronicle.com