The city of Racine plans to break ground in October on construction of a $68 million new
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center.
The new King Center will be located north of Julian Thomas Elementary School at West Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in the city’s Lincoln-King neighborhood. It will replace the existing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center facility at 1134 Dr. Martin Luther King Drive.
The new facility will provide modern and additional space for city programs and health care services. It will include a new, larger gymnasium, running track, climbing wall and other indoor and outdoor recreational facilities. It will also have classrooms, computer labs, and other facilities for after-school programs for students, and educational and vocational opportunities for adults.
It will also include a new Federally Qualified Health Center.
PillarHealth of Racine will operate the center, where doctors across different disciplines will collaborate to offer wholistic care to patients.
“After more than four years of planning and public outreach, we are ready to build this facility that will transform neighborhoods that have endured some of the nation’s most extreme economic and racial disparities,” Racine Mayor
Cory Mason said. “This project combines the community center, health center, and educational programs under one roof to become more than the sum of their parts. This will create positive improvement for the City of Racine for decades to come.”
The Racine Common Council approved the project on Tuesday. The Common Council approval means the city can issue up to $21 million in bonds for bridge funding to allow construction to start in October. Contractors will ensure at least 20% of the construction hours for the project are performed by Racine residents participating in the Racine Works Program. The project team includes architecture firm
SmithGroup, general contractor
Pepper Construction, owner’s representative
The Concord Group, and Racine-based community engagement firm
Payne Consulting.
Major project donors for the project that have been announced to date include
Ascension,
We Energies, and the
Pat Connaughton Foundation, founded by
Milwaukee Bucks player
Pat Connaughton. The Pat Connaughton Foundation’s donation will cover the cost of installing the hardwood floor of the indoor basketball court (the scope and final dollar amount are to be determined).
Currently, 92% of the total King Center project funding has been identified, according to city spokesman Sean Ryan. Grants and private foundations have been identified and are being pursued to cover the remaining amount.
Construction is expected to be complete in 2026.
