MANSFIELD — The North End Community Improvement Collaborative unveiled plans Wednesday for the construction of a new $8 million community center at 486 Springmill St.
The NECIC purchased the property, formerly the Imani Activity and Events Center, last summer.
“We purchased it knowing that this was not gonna be enough room for us and the community had a greater need,” said NECIC Executive Director Deanna West-Torrence.
“We’re looking to create a place where people experience a sense of belonging, where people can master skills, where people can learn things that gain independence and learn to be generous with the community.”
Matthew Stanfield of FiELD 9 Architecture presented blueprints and renderings for the project at the NECIC’s annual meeting Wednesday night. The plans call for additions to the existing building on the north and west side.
The first floor of the center will include a community room and kitchen, art gallery, gymnasium, theater, three-lane lap pool and vocational classroom.
The second floor will feature educational classrooms, an eSports lab, podcast studio, recording studio, computer lab and two art studios.
The third floor will contain leasable space for businesses. The space will help generate income for the NECIC and provide a space for businesses in the community.
“Some of the things we’re thinking about for leasable space would be professional offices, a medical clinic, maybe a mental health clinic,” Stanfield said.
The facility will be close to 30,000 square feet.
“There’s some conversations that still need to be had about additional properties that are available around here that would help provide additional parking that we currently don’t have room on the site for,” he said.
West-Torrence said the facility will fill a void left by the closure of various neighborhood schools and the Ocie Hill Neighborhood Center.
“You can tell the well-being of a community by the well-being of its children,” West-Torrence said. “This is a place for them to have fun, to learn, to work, to share, to get healthy. It’s a place that we hope will restore community services that have been lost.”
Fourth Ward Councilman Alomar Davenport expressed enthusiasm and support for the NECIC’s efforts.
“We don’t see many new buildings here in the north end,” Davenport said. “To see what NECIC is about to embark on is very exciting for the community at large.
“I’m look forward to doing what I can to help bring this to fruition.”
Incoming NECIC board chair Paul Kemerling said the project is about fighting for the future of the north end.
“This is our fortress — to protect our neighborhood, to protect our community, to show the larger community that this neighborhood is worth investing in,” he said.
Eddie Harris, a longtime north end resident, said he believes the center will be transformational for the community.
“I think it’s the best idea since they’ve done the King Garden apartments in the north end 50 years ago,” he said. “It’s gonna uplift the whole neighborhood. The same thing that the brickyard did for the downtown, this is gonna do for the north end.”
West-Torrence said the next step toward making the community center a reality will be to secure funding. The NECIC is currently seeking community partnerships as well as funds from the American Rescue Plan Act.
She said both the City of Mansfield and Richland County governments have expressed openness to contributing ARPA funds.
“We’d like to have city and county invest in the project,” she said. “There’s been interest shown for both.”
Community members can donate to the NECIC by visiting the organization’s website and clicking the green ‘Donate’ button.
