JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida want to breathe some life into the old languishing Laurence F. Lee club building in Springfield.
The facility at the corner of Liberty and 10th served the community for 50 years.
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But it has been vacant since the summer of 2015 after the recession and rising maintenance costs took their toll on the building, according to the Springfield Preservation and Revitalization Committee.
“The goal of the new club is for it to be the coolest place for teens,” said Joanne Kazmierski, with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida.
A complete renovation is in the works to transform the building into a multipurpose facility to serve area kids with after-school and summer programs. It’s going to be the community’s Citi Teen Center.
“One of our big focus points for this building, because it is geared toward teens, is to have resources that will teach skill sets that will help them in a job or career,” Kazmierski said in a news release. “That said, we not only view this facility as being for local teens, but the community will have access to basketball leagues, religious services, yoga, Zumba, bingo and more.”
The Boys and Girls Clubs is working with the city and a number of community organizations to take the project from concept to reality.