It has been a while, but Fayetteville residents can finally enjoy a newly renovated Yvonne Richardson Community Center – and it was definitely worth the wait.
The City of Fayetteville opened the doors of the refurbished community center Friday, Aug. 7, capping a multiyear project handled by MBL Architecture.
The road to a rebuilt center began in 2019 with a bond initiative and a matching grant from the Walton Family Foundation, and would end with a total $4 million expenditure to transform the facility, which has been a mainstay in one of Fayetteville’s oldest neighborhoods for over 30 years. Construction was handled by Moser Construction out of Bryant, and the improvements will include a transformation of the adjacent Ralph “Buddy” Hayes Park.
Photo Credit: MLB Architecture
The City of Fayetteville, which recently designated the neighborhood as a Black Historic District to preserve structures and cultural significance southeast of downtown, initially engaged MBL in 2019 to design a small kitchen for the aging community center. Through an extensive community engagement process with residents, center staff and city officials, the scope grew into a much larger vision for the 30-year-old facility.
The completed renovation adds 3,850 square feet and renovates 9,500 square feet of existing space.
“This started as a plan for a new kitchen, and by listening to the community, it became something far more ambitious,” said Audy Lack of MBL Architecture. “This has been a passion project for our team from day one, and seeing it come to life for a community that has given so much to Fayetteville has been incredibly rewarding.”
Photo Credit: MLB Architecture
The center now serves roughly 90 children a week in its summer camp program, up from a typical 60 for its core 5-to-12 age group, along with a teen program and a junior camp counselor initiative for high school volunteers.
Photo Credit: MLB Architecture
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