|
 A
groundbreaking ceremony earlier this summer marked the
beginning of construction on the Dr. William U. Pearson
Community Center planned near the southwest corner of
Martin L. King Boulevard and Carey Avenue in District D.
The
40,000 square-foot center will feature a gymnasium,
learning center, fitness and exercise room, a
multipurpose room, teen room, game room and much more
once completed. The center is scheduled to open fall
2007 and is part of a multi-phase development that will
also feature an outdoor amphitheater and track and field
course designed to accommodate local competitions and
athlete training.
“This project has been a passion
of mine for several years now and it makes me very proud
to know that we are getting underway with the
construction,” said Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson
Gates, who represents the district. “This facility is
going to offer something for everyone in the surrounding
neighborhoods. We need more recreational resources in
our community and I wanted to be sure those needs were
being met now and in the future.”
The Las Vegas-Clark County Urban League, an affiliate of
the National Urban League, will operate the center.
Las Vegas
league board chair Jacquelyn Shropshire was excited about
the community center and the nonprofit agency’s role.
“The Urban League is pleased to
be a member and contributor to this community. The Urban
League has long stood for health and family and
promoting a certain level of quality of life,” Mrs.
Shropshire said. “Our office is committed to meeting
the needs of the people in this community. Services will
be available to seniors, parents, teens and small
children from
7 a.m.
to
midnight
.”
An
Early
Childhood
Development
Center
that is currently under construction at the intersection
is Phase I of the $18 million project. The
Pearson
Center
at a cost of $10 million is Phase II. It was designed by
the firm of Dekker/Perich/Sabatini and will be built by
Richardson Construction. Phase III of the project,
funded for $4.6 million, will include the track field,
bleachers, landscaping and park features such as shade
structures.
Funding for the project was provided through Community
Block Grant Development funds, $7 million of which was
pre-committed to the project, and
Clark
County
advancing county funds to be repaid from Community
Development Block Grant funds available in the 2006,
2007 and 2008. Additional funding came from an Economic
Development Initiative grant provided with the
assistance of Sen. Harry Reid and
Nevada
’s congressional delegation.
Dr. William U. Pearson, for whom
the center is named, was a long-time county commissioner
and respected leader in the African-American community.
A dentist, he served on the
County
Commission
from 1985 to 1992. Atkinson Gates succeeded
Pearson in the post.
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