(Host) The city of Winooski opened a new Community Center on Monday, the culmination of five years of planning.
Governor Jim Douglas and Mayor Mike O’Brien were on hand for the dedication of the building to longtime Winooski residents Robert and Shirley O’Brien.
The idea for a community center developed during a forum among city residents. Winooski’s Director of Development J. Ladd says those residents were integral in planning what the Winooski Community Center would look like. It will be home to non-profits, including the Winooski Family Center, Vermont Refugee Resettlement and the Greater Burlington YMCA. The Center includes a kitchen and a community gathering space that will be available for use by the public.
Ladd says the groups plan to collaborate on programs:
(Ladd) "It’s great, it’s so much of what the community asked for, and the process of having done it was so collaborative, and so positive. And it feels terrific, the place looks spectacular. We don’t even know half the synergies and half the value that it will have. It is a place for people to form positive relationships, and I’m eager to see what that will be.
(Host) The 19,000-square foot space is located in a renovated shopping plaza. The city bought the property from a local real estate developer. Rent collected from organizations that use the facility will pay for the cost of the building. And Ladd says city voters approved a two million dollar bond last year to cover the additional cost of renovation:
(Ladd) "It was the first special issue bond that the city’s ever approved in its first go around. So that was really showing a high level of community support."
(Host) Ladd says the project got a big boost from the foundation run by IDX founder Rich Tarrant. Tarrant and his wife Deborah donated one million dollars to the center.
Four storefronts included in the project will house health centers and a grocery store. Planners say future phases of the project may include an indoor pool and housing on upper levels.