The newly renovated Booker T. Washington Community Center has officially been open for one year! At a community event on Saturday, April 9, the Macon-Bibb Community Enhancement Authority (MBCEA) held a celebration to mark the occasion. Prior to its grand reopening in 2021, the center had been closed for five years.

District 8 Commissioner Virgil Watkins says he has seen a big impact in the area he represents. “This has been a hub for activity and community improvement. It’s a good launch spot for a lot of initiatives aimed at mental and physical wellness. This place has always been a point of pride for the Pleasant Hill Community, so I’m glad to see it thriving once again.”

At the one year celebration, dozens of people came for free food, dance and taekwondo demonstrations, games, activities, prizes for kids, and to get information on the services offered there.

“I’m very excited and humbled by how great a year we’ve had. Not just from Pleasant Hill, but the whole community,” says MBCEA Executive Director Tedra Huston. “We’re proud to have provided vital mental health and other services to so many people in this first year, and we’re looking forward to even better years to come.”

Organizations currently providing programming and services at the Center include MBCEA, C-Qul, Southern Center for Choice Theory, Pace Center for Girls, The Mosaic Development, Eric Foundation, and Melanated Communities Stimulation Project. To watch a video of the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony from April 7, 2021, click here.

Reopening the Center is just part of the work occurring to revitalize Historic Pleasant Hill. To improve the area in the vicinity of the Center, Macon-Bibb focused blight removal efforts on the streets near there, at the entrance to Historic Linwood Cemetery, and more.