“The community has this awesome opportunity to really invest in our kids. Now. I feel like we’re at a turning point,” Stewart said.
She said she hopes CBI can help improve literacy scores for Middletown students.
“We now have the space, the resources, this opportunity to turn that around,” she said. “And it’s right here in this building.”
Middletown Mayor Elizabeth Slamka said the community center is a place of “empowerment, growth, recreation and community.”
“It is a well-balanced nexus of Middletown, offering so much to our children, youth, families and adults,” she said.
Slamka said because of the $6.7 million investment from the city, offerings at the 83-year-old building on Lafayette Avenue renamed for the late mayor and community advocate are “expanding even further.”
Funding for the project included $2.8 million from 2021 ARPA funds, $3.5 million from Butler County ARPA funds and $312,512 from the capital improvement fund.
CBI has an agreement with Middletown — which owns the building — until 2030 to manage programs at the community center. The institute also handles maintenance issues up to a certain dollar amount and pays for electric, according to Stewart.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
The renovation project has almost doubled the square footage of the facility, including a new 9,000-square-foot gym and 1,800-square-foot family room.
The family room will include a literacy space for kids aged birth to eighth grade; a media center; an open space for play, reading and socializing; and a conference room.
For the gym, CBI is hoping to rent out the space to local, youth sports teams for practices and games.
Before, teams renting the old gym would sometimes displace kids enrolled in CBI programs, according to Stewart.
Now, with two gyms, CBI can maintain activities for both without moving kids.
“We’re hoping that will be a revenue generator for us,” Stewart said.
Any revenue made at the community center is funneled back into operations and youth programs, according to Stewart.
Before renovations, the center saw about 100 kids on a daily basis through its program — a number Stewart expects will double depending on activities.
Though CBI is expecting more students, there are not plans as of now to add additional staff.
“I’m (not) saying that’s going to be an easy thing to do, but it may mean that we have to rely heavier on volunteers,” Stewart said.
CBI’s staff includes about 20 full- and part-time positions, including those in-house at the community center and employees who work within local Middletown schools to assist teachers and help run CBI’s after-school programs.
For staffing, budget is a concern due to the volatility of federal grants, according to Stewart.
In July, CBI had to temporarily suspend its summer programs due to a pause in the 21st Century Community Learning Centers federal grant program. This accounted for 75 percent of CBI’s entire annual budget, which is around $1 million.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
While the grant has since been reinstated — along with a $60,000 donation from the city of Middletown to finish out summer programs — CBI is turning towards a model less dependent on federal funding, according to Stewart.
“There is not a guarantee that (federal funds) will be there in the future. In fact, it’s looking more like they will not,” Stewart said.
Federal funding is confirmed through fiscal year 2027, though CBI is making an effort to move after-school programs held at local schools into the expanded community center.
“We hope by the end of that time, we’ve got programs here,” Stewart said. “Centralizing programs will help us be a little bit more efficient.”
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
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