Center project moving forward

In the past two months, crews have been working 10-hour days tearing out walls, floors and stairwells at the 23-year-old Greenwood Community Center.

For those who frequented the community center for exercise or recreation, the inside of the facility is hardly recognizable right now, but soon it will begin to look brand new.

The $2.3 million project to renovate the center that started in April is on schedule, and the goal is to reopen the facility by the start of next year, officials said.

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Crews have been working the long days at the community center to keep the project on schedule, parks director Rob Taggart said.

“Just to watch the whole thing come into form, when you start to see what you had on paper come to fruition, it’s exciting,” Taggart said. “You can see how areas will function and flow together. It’s exciting to actually see things start to come together.”

Portions of the project, such as the room that will be the children’s playscapes and the new downstairs exercise area, are already coming together, Taggart said.

The city is doing a complete overhaul of the facility, including making more room for families with children, more space for residents to exercise and making the facility more accessible for senior citizens.

Construction is planned to last through the fall, with completion around December and a grand reopening at the beginning of 2017, Taggart said.

The parks department sent letters to the current 5,600 community center members at the beginning of the year, informing them of the closure while the renovations are completed. All 2016 community center memberships will be valid through December 2017, Taggart said.

Greenwood Community Schools has hosted morning- and after-school programs and the community center’s summer camp, as well as exercise classes in the mornings or evenings.

“Residents have been extremely excited and understanding. And we’ve been getting great feedback. This is long overdue,” Taggart said.