The pieces are coming together for a community center in the troubled 61st Street and Peoria Avenue area.
Now organizers just need a location. And maybe $15 million.
"We're hoping for (help from) the philanthropic community," said City Councilor Jeannie Cue, who is leading a city task force seeking ways to fund such a facility.
The South Peoria Neighborhood Connection Foundation has sought for years to build a community center near its office at 58th Street and Peoria Avenue, arguing that area residents need a one-stop location for social services within walking distance because many of them lack reliable transportation.
Interest in the idea has grown since four women were fatally shot Jan. 7 at the nearby Fairmont Terrace apartments, and Cue said she has spoken with a number of organizations that are interested in offering free services - including a health clinic - in such a facility.
Steve Olsen, a Tulsa architect and member of the Connection Foundation board of directors, said he and fellow architect Weldon Bowman have designed a 22,000-square-foot facility with a gymnasium, classrooms and offices.
The goal, he said, is to move the foundation and its free GED classes and food services into the facility. Cue said the foundation would probably own it, possibly working with a management company to operate it.
The building would likely cost about $15 million, and organizers would seek donations possibly along with federal Community Development Block Grant funds, she said.
"We know it's needed - that something like that would be very useful in that area - but we have to find a place and find the money because that kind of stuff costs a lot of money," said Councilor Arianna Moore, who helps lead Cue's task force.
Organizers are eyeing two sites - Johnson Park at 61st Street and Riverside Drive and a 1.8-acre property that houses a vacant bar at 6202 S. Peoria Ave.
Given that city parks officials hope to convert the park into a privately funded multisport complex, organizers' hopes now likely rest with the other site, Cue said.
She said she plans to meet with its owner, who is listed in property records as Antonio Perez, in the next few weeks. Perez has previously expressed interest in donating the site, selling it for a small fee or leasing it, Cue said.
The center is envisioned as an "activity center" that would help residents become self-reliant, she said.
It would likely host cooking classes, motivational speakers, college classes, counseling, job fairs, the Connection Foundation's existing GED classes and food services, and a library filled with donated books or materials purchased with help from fundraisers, she said.
Good Samaritan Health Services, which operates mobile clinics throughout the city, has expressed interest in operating a permanent facility in the building, she said.
A spokeswoman for the organization told the World that plans are still preliminary and that the group is also considering opening health services within Fairmont Terrace.
Cue and Moore lead the 61st and Peoria Quality of Life Task force, which has met periodically since March.
The group brings together area residents and city leaders with the goal of improving education, health care and other aspects of life in the 61st Street and Peoria area.
Zack Stoycoff 918-581-8486
zack.stoycoff@tulsaworld.com
Original Print Headline: Neighborhood hope
