A new community center is coming to this Fort Worth north side neighborhood
The city will break ground Friday on a new Diamond Hill Community Center, which has served the north side neighborhood since the 1950s.
The new 25,000 -square foot community center will be almost 50% larger than its predecessor. It will include a gymnasium, boxing gym, teaching kitchen, fitness center, meeting spaces, game room and computer lab.
It will also include a public art piece by artist Elizabeth Akamatsu called “Rising Strong.” The sculpture was selected by the Fort Worth Public Art Commission after consultation with the community and the surrounding neighborhoods. The groundbreaking is scheduled for 10 a.m. at 1701 NE 36th St.
District 2 city council member Carlos Flores praised city staff for the project during Tuesday’s council meeting. He was a driving force behind getting it included in the 2018 bond program, which along with a grant from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department is funding the construction. Flores also led the team that selected the public art piece featured at the new center.
“After 50 years, a new state of the art community center is coming to this community along with an exciting public art piece,” Flores wrote in an email to the Star-Telegram.
Roxanne Martinez, president of the Diamond Hill North Side Youth Association, said the community has outgrown the nearly 70-year-old building. Her children’s after school program has shared space with residents working out in the center’s multi-purpose room, she said.
She called the center “the hub of the community,” and the only option in the area with affordable quality child care.
“I don’t know what parents would do if we didn’t have that resource,” Martinez said.
The center was a warming station during February’s winter storm and as a COVID-19 testing and vaccine distribution site.
Martinez said the community’s familiarity with the center helped break through vaccine hesitancy. She said appointments quickly filled up with next to no one missing their shots.
The current community center will be demolished upon the completion of the new center in 2023.
Ciara McCarthy contributed to this report.
This story was originally published September 23, 2021 at 2:16 PM.
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