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Officials,Residents Celebrate Construction Of New Neighborhood Center

WAMC

     Construction is under way on the last major rebuilding project stemming from the June 2011 tornado that tore through Springfield, Massachusetts.

     The foundation for the new building had already been poured when city officials and neighborhood residents assembled Friday morning for a groundbreaking ceremony for the $10 million South End Community Center.

    " This is a really truly special day that our beloved South End Community Center is finally finally going to be rebuilt," said Mayor Domenic Sarno to applause from city officials, neighborhood residents and supporters of the center.

     For  Sarno, who led Springfield’s disaster response and constantly praises the city’s resiliency, this groundbreaking held special significance.  As a boy growing up in the South End neighborhood, Sarno played basketball and other sports at the old community center.  He was the organization’s executive director for five years before his election as mayor in 2007.

   " This one is near and dear to by heart," Sarno said.

    Rebuilding the community center was part of the city’s disaster recovery master plan that was crafted in the months that followed the tornado, but the project encountered delays over funding and stemming from the proposed location on public parkland.

  The city filed numerous appeals before securing $6 million in federal disaster aid for the project. Because the city had received federal funds in the 1970s to build Emerson Wight Park, it had to obtain permission from federal agencies to build the community center in the park, a process that took more than a year.   

   Sarno said the delays were frustrating.

    " There were times when I wanted to bang my head against the wall and there were times when I wanted to bang other people's heads against the wall," he said.

   City officials credited Congressman Richard Neal for helping to cut through the red tape.

   The new building is expected to be finished by next September.  It will be approximately 29,000 square feet with a large gymnasium, indoor basketball courts, and a multipurpose room for boxing, wrestling, and dancing. The second floor will have an exercise center and classrooms.

  Since the tornado destroyed the community center’s original building, its programs have operated out of temporary locations including schools and church basements.

  Richard “Skip” Rousseau, vice president of the South End Community Center, said the new building will be a safe haven.

  " This is going to be something great for kids to come here," said Rousseau. " We are going to have a wonderful time saving kids from trouble."

  Shane Milette of the South End Citizens Council said neighborhood residents are excited to see the project finally under way.

  "It is great news that it is finally truly happening. It is going to be a plus for all the people of the South End," said Milette.

The city plans to buy the Marble Street Apartments from the Springfield Housing Authority, relocate the 46 families who live there, and tear down the buildings to put in a parking lot for the community center.

The record-setting tenure of Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno. The 2011 tornado and its recovery that remade the largest city in Western Massachusetts. The fallout from the deadly COVID outbreak at the Holyoke Soldiers Home. Those are just a few of the thousands and thousands of stories WAMC’s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill has covered for WAMC in his nearly 17 years with the station.
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