Mayor Linda Gorton joined representatives of the Community Land Trust today to break ground on a new community center for social, educational and recreational programming for the Davis Park neighborhood.
Gorton was joined by Councilmember Jennifer Reynolds, Ed Holmes, Community Land Trust project manager, and Byron Mitchell, Community Land Trust president.
“This is part of a wide-ranging project that the community, with federal and state support, has been working on for more than 25 years,” Gorton said. “It is part of the reinvention of the Davis Park area, addressing environmental, transportation, housing, and social justice issues in the heart of our city. Even though we still have work to do, we are taking a big step forward today.”
Councilmember Jennifer Reynolds said, “I’m thrilled to be here today to see such an important project begin. This community center will serve not only the 11th District but the wider surrounding area, and I hope it will serve as a gift to all who use it.”
The 3,800-square-foot building will be located on a site between DeRoode Street, Freedom Land and Oliver Lewis Way. The building will house conference rooms, a technology room, a room dedicated to the unique history of the neighborhood, and office space for the Lexington Community Land Trust.
Holmes said, “This community center will further enhance the viability of the Davis Park Neighborhood, being one of several neighborhood enhancements that are about bringing people together and creating a sense of belonging.”
In addition to the community center, the Community Land Trust continues to attract affordable housing projects to the neighborhood, and a new five-acre park, Davis Park, is under construction next to the community center lot. Transportation initiatives include Oliver Lewis Way, originally called Newtown Pike extension, and the upcoming Scott Street extension.
Community Land Trust President Byron Mitchell has seen a lot of change come to his neighborhood in the last 20 years. “As a longtime resident of Davis Bottoms, I am encouraged to see the revitalization efforts with the development of this community center and everything else being done in Davis Park, all of which contributes to its vitality, health, and well-being by building a sense of purpose, and resilience back into our community.“
