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A new Roberts center
Work is expected to begin in April or May and produce a single facility to replace two aging ones.
By JON WILSON
Published January 1, 2006
ST. PETERSBURG - Roberts Community Center, the last of three neighborhood recreation sites to be updated, will get its facelift in 2006.
In the works is a single 27,000-square-foot center that will combine youth and adult programs.
Currently, the programs are housed in two buildings. Youth activities take place in the original building at 1240 50th Ave. N that went up during the 1950s. Adult programs are in a smaller building on the property.
Construction is expected to start in April or May and take about 13 months to complete, said John Green, capital improvements director.
Estimated cost is between $5.2-million and $5.5-million, Green said. Most of it is financed through the county's voter-approved penny sales tax, which pays for many of the city's recreational amenities.
"This is the third in the trilogy," Green said. Wildwood Community Center was replaced in 2000 and a new Northwest Community Center opened in October.
Roberts offers an array of activities, with basketball always among the more popular ones. More space will mean new programs for both youngsters and adults, recreation officials say. Jazz, ballet and tap dancing are among the possibilities.
Roberts was named for Helen Roberts, a philanthropist who came to St. Petersburg in 1929 and embraced a number of causes. The pool at Northeast High School also is named for her.
[Last modified January 1, 2006, 00:28:15]
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