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Detroit City Leaders Break Ground On New Community Center In Jefferson Chalmers

DETROIT (CBS DETROIT) -- City and community leaders break ground on a new community center at A.B. Ford Park in Jefferson Chalmers along the east Detroit riverfront.

The $6.68 million building will replace Lenox Center, which has been sitting vacant for nearly a decade. It will be an 8,116-square-foot state-of-the-art facility outside of the FEMA flood plain and serve as a new community space and sustainable resilience hub during emergencies.

The building is funded using $2.73 million of Penske Corp's $5 million Strategic Neighborhood Fund donation and $3.95 million in city funding.

"For nearly a decade, the residents of Jefferson Chalmers have wanted a new community center. Now, thanks to Roger Penske and his commitment to this neighborhood through the Strategic Neighborhood Fund, they soon will have one that will be available to them even through power outages," said Mayor Mike Duggan in a statement.

"Neighborhood revitalization, guided by residents and supported by the city and our business partners, has been the key to the success we are having through the SNF. We believe this new center will be a template for future ones like it."

The center is expected to open in 2023.

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