Plans are in motion to replace the Ed Rice Community Center. People who live in Frayser met Thursday night with city leaders and architects to talk about the best way to spend potentially $10- million and put up a new building.
The city-run community center is a more than 50-years-old and is the center of the Frayser community. Plans are to tear the old building down and put a new one in its place, where people can play, exercise, and meet.
“We consider the Ed Rice Community Center the heart of Frayser,” said Telise Turner, who showed up for Thursday’s meeting.
Turner says she’s been coming to the Ed Rice Community Center for more than 30 years.
She’s seen it change for better and right now, she says the center is at its worse.
Turner and fellow Frayser residents expressed their concerns about safety, security, and visibility for programming to city leaders and Archimania architects.
“As you can see it’s old. It’s not modern with all the amenities that we now expect to have in our community centers,” said Maria Munoz-Blanco, Director of City of Memphis Parks & Neighborhoods.
This year the city granted $900,000 to start planning and designing an all new building.
“I think the Ed Rice Community Center is vital to this Frayser area, somewhere between 45 and 50,000 residents here, so this is our meeting place. This is where we frequent,” said Loretta Miller.
Miller is a past president of the Frayser Community Association and the Frayser CDC. She walks these trails regularly.
“We need somewhere where our citizens or residents of Frayser can be active,” said Miller.
“Hopefully in the next 24 months, cross your fingers, pray, do everything that you can. We are hopeful that we will have a new community center in Frayser,” said Munoz-Blanco.
Archimania architects also designed the Hattiloo Theatre and Ballet Memphis buildings in Overton Square.
They’ll take responses from the meeting and begin designing to get an idea exactly how much money will be needed.
