City Of Las Vegas Scheduled To Open New Stupak Community Center On Monday, January 4, 2010
New Downtown Center To Serve A Variety Of Community Needs
It is out with the old and in with the new, in 2010, as the $7.5 million, 34,183-square-foot Stupak Community Center is set to open at 5 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 4. City of Las Vegas Mayor Pro Tem Gary Reese is hosting a ceremonial grand opening at the new center located at 251 W. Boston Ave.
“This project is very near and dear to me because the Stupak Center has always been an integral part of the Gateway District,” said Mayor Pro Tem Gary Reese, who represents this area in Ward 3. “The old center provided great service to the community, and the new center will become even more of an asset and focal point for residents, offering a variety of programs, activities and educational opportunities.”
The Gateway District is located behind the Stratosphere hotel-casino. The neighborhood includes a high percentage of households that qualify as low-income.
The new, two-story center has impressive features including an indoor multisport gym, weight, fitness and aerobics rooms, a game room, multipurpose room and a kitchen. There is also a library, arts classroom, computer training classroom and other classrooms for English as a Second Language, citizenship and other courses.
In August 2007, the Las Vegas City Council awarded Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds to build the new center. Groundbreaking ceremonies were held Aug. 18, 2008.
More recently, in July of this year, federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Deputy Secretary Ron Sims toured the construction site. At that time, a project to install a solar carport at the new community center was added. This project will be built with federal Recovery Act funds intended to create and/or preserve jobs. Solar panels will be mounted on 34 carport stalls to yield approximately 54,000 kilowatt hours of energy savings annually, enough to power 4.5 homes. Funding for the solar covered parking plan is provided by an Energy Efficiency Community Block Grant (EECBG) and Community Development Block Grand Recovery (CDBG-R) bonds. The solar carport project is scheduled to be constructed in 2010, but some infrastructure work has already been completed at the site to facilitate the project.
The new Stupak Community Center was built on the site of the Chester A. Stupak Park. Now that the community center is completed, the old facility across the street at 300 W. Boston Ave. will be demolished to make way for a new park. Plans are now in design and work could start in third quarter 2010.
Richardson Construction is the contractor. The city of Las Vegas Department of Public Works provided project oversight during the construction. The Department of Neighborhood Services secured and administered the federal funds for the construction. The Department of Leisure Services will program activities and events now that the new Stupak Community Center is completed.
Following the Jan. 4 opening, the center will be open weekdays, from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturdays, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and will be closed Sundays and holidays.
