The vision of a home for Cape Verdean people and their culture took shape in 1990 when a group of determined dedicated hard-working men and women purchased the abandoned Strand theater on Acushnet Avenue in the north end. In 1995 the Founding board incorporated a nonprofit Cape Verdean Association in New Bedford they set to work with zeal to secure the building, rebuild the roof and clean the boarded-up interior after a fire in deplorable condition. In 2017 CVA partnered with Whale to preserve the substantially historic Strand theater and make the Cape Verdean cultural center
a reality.