Some community leaders are turning a former North City police station into a community center.
The Ujamaa Community Development Corporation and Black Family Land Trust are renovating the old 6th District police station into the Ujamaa Cultural Arts, Education and Wellness Center.
The new 15,000-square-foot community center will be located in the core of the Mark Twain neighborhood on the North Side of St. Louis at 5076 West Florissant Ave.
1st Ward Alderman Charles Quincy Troupe said African-American youth in the city need a community center.
“We can’t compete with the gangs,” Troupe said.
With the center, Troupe hopes to shift health perceptions from emergency treatment to preventative community care.
“This is unique in the community. There is nothing for young black kids,” Troupe said.
“They need love, compassion and understanding. We want to touch the hearts and minds, cultivate their potential. We want to be a solution to problems.”
He has help. A quarter of a million dollars were donated through local unions and government agencies to renovate the center. Various trade unions, such as the Electrical Workers Union, Sheet Metal Workers, and Plumbers & Pipefitters volunteered labor and donated funds for the center, which should be completed by Spring 2011.
“It’s a great feeling to know people on a personal level like Troupe, and we are helping others,” said Gus Mantia, an electrician at RJP Electric, who is working on wiring the center.
Troupe’s concept of an accessible, one-stop solution center would include an integrated learning center, a media literacy center, office and meeting space for community groups, six business incubators for entrepreneurs, a recording studio, an art gallery, and health and wellness resources.
Organizers are working toward partnering with BJC and the Saint Louis University School of Public Health to open a health clinic in the facility.
Troupe and the other organizers are still looking for new ideas, donations and volunteers. For more information, call Ujamaa Community Development Corporation at 314-382-4440.
