Before the Hartranft Community Center closed in 2009, Ward 37 leader El Amor M. Brawne Ali said it was a community hub for the North Philadelphia neighborhood.
"It's where people had [banquets] and where people had bridal showers, where people had everything," said Brawne Ali, better known in the community as Ms. El.
MORE: New online tool provides public data on demographics of drivers getting pulled over in Philly
The center at 800 W. Cumberland St. reopened Tuesday after 16 years, a triumph for Hartranft residents. The 60,000-square-foot space features an indoor swimming pool, classrooms, kitchen and outdoor playground.
The $11.5 million renovation was part of a larger project from the Philadelphia Housing Authority for nearby affordable housing. PHA will provide services at the center, but the building will largely be community-run. Residents can stop by for swim lessons, day care, a reading program and after-school services. There will also be early childhood and social service coordinators on staff.
Councilmember Jeffery Young Jr., who represents the district where the center is located, said he thinks it will have a huge impact on the community's morale.
"This is a brand-new, shiny, public space that they have access to that can make them feel good," said Young (D-5th). "They have a place to meet. They have a place to begin to bring back that sense of community that was lost in this neighborhood."
Michaela Althouse/For PhillyVoice
The indoor pool at Hartranft Community Center will be open to the public.
The center opened in 1974 and was owned by the Philadelphia School District. City Council approved legislation to buy the building and restore it in 2019, the Philadelphia Tribune reported. Five years later, the PHA announced plans to preserve the nearby Fairhill Apartments which had been set for demolition. The three-phase redevelopment project included 150 new townhouses, 202 senior units and plans to reopen Hartranft.
PHA CEO Kelvin Jeremiah said the organization thinks critically about making integrated communities in its developments. He added that this is the PHA's third project with a recreation center revival element, and the authority is planning more for the future.
"We don't want to create areas of concentrated poverty — urban enclaves that don't come with the resources that it needs," Jeremiah said.
Brawne Ali, 82, said the process to reopen Hartranft has been a long one — with some of her friends who were part of the effort dying before they were able to see it complete. But she's happy to see it back in the North Philadelphia community, and thinks it's a step in the right direction.
"We need so many things, but if they bring back a few, it'll be a help," Brawne Ali said. "It's going to take a minute to build it up, but … they made promises to what they're putting in that building, and we're expecting it to happen."
