Last week, community members were invited to the Boston Public Library’s Grove Hall branch to check out the floor plans and view a 3D model of the future Boston Centers for Youth & Families Grove Hall Community Center, which will occupy a city-owned vacant lot just across the street. 

The feedback at the session on Feb. 27 ranged from excitement, especially among the senior set, to questions about parking concerns, to disappointment by one attendee that plans did not include a steam room for seniors.

The facility, Dorchester’s very first stand-alone, city-run community center, will be divided into three major components: aquatics, fitness, and enrichment, all of which will come together in a robust lobby right off Geneva Ave.

A stand-alone operation “differs significantly from our school-based sites,” said BCYF Commissioner Marta Rivera in a statement to The Reporter. “School-based sites operate within a defined space in BPS facilities and are limited in hours of operation as well as programming space. This new facility will allow BCYF to offer a wider range of programming and greater access to the community center spaces and amenities.” 

With the design complete, the project is now in the construction documentation phase. Construction is projected to begin next fall and to last two years. After BCYF has enough time to move into the space, the facility will be open to the public.

The development is being completed through a collaboration of the city, BCYF, the Public Facilities Department (PFD), Utile Architecture and Planning, and a Community Engagement Committee. 

Interim Project Manager Tiesha Walton of the PFD welcomed residents to the library’s second floor, where they could simultaneously look both at the renderings and out the window to where they will soon come to life. 

“The object of today’s open house was to provide these boards, showing you the progress to date of the project,” said Walton, who stood in front of the design plans for the lobby, pool, senior center, teen center, and gymnasium. 

Many of the senior residents who came to the session were especially excited to see the gym’s design. “I’m very pleased that some of the things that I suggested will be there – like an indoor walking track all year round,” said Eleice Latham, who asked about it at an earlier community meeting. “I wanted the walking track, so I’m pleased. I know everybody can’t get everything they want.” 

The track will surround three basketball courts, three volleyball courts, and adaptive sports equipment. Just beyond the track are a cardio and weight room and a flex fitness room. 

Latham added that the project team “asked us what we like, and they brought us in and made us a part of it.” She and the other seniors also plan to utilize the senior center located in the enrichment wing right across from the athletic facilities. Connected to that center will be a community room, community kitchen, and indoor and outdoor art.

Pastor Miniard Culpepper of Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church, isn’t as satisfied as Latham. “We need a steam room for the seniors,” he said. “It’s been a long battle,” one that the pastor isn’t quite ready to concede is over. 

When other community members shared parking concerns, Assistant Director and Registered Architect Hélène Guézennec said that “we are committed to addressing the community’s concerns and will make adjustments to the project where feasible.” 

Though parking may not be ideal, and a sauna is missing from the picture, residents can cool off in the five-lane pool located to the left of the lobby. Built for swim lessons and competitions, it will have a zero-barrier entry ramp, and diving blocks, and will be connected to locker rooms and gender-neutral shower rooms. 

Jessica Pomare, who lives right up the street from the soon-to-be facility, said she and her six-year-old daughter are most excited about the aquatic wing. 

Pomare, who also has an almost two-year-old son, added that she “didn’t see anything for younger kids.” Though the library will be right across the street and has plenty of programming for young kids, she is interested in how the community center’s hours will compare. “I feel like the hours of operation are going to be key for the success of the space,” she said.

While both the pool and gym are on the first floor, the second floor houses the teen center. Pomare’s children have quite a bit of time to go before they can study, lounge, and game there but she said she’s excited to see the impact it will have on the community anyway. “That’s a big part of the dangers for the neighborhood. There’s a lot of kids with nothing to do. Keep them busy and I’m sure everything will just feel a lot better.”

Mattapan resident Janetha Busby agreed, saying, “We’re very, very, very happy ‘cause it’s going to uplift the community.” 

In total, the facility is designed to be 41,000 gross square feet. As of now, funding remains on track, but the final cost will not be confirmed until the estimate is finalized and industry price variations and bid results are accounted for.