Mathews Architecture and its consultant team are currently working on the Construction Documents for construction of the new Mary C. Jenkins Community Center in the historic Rosenwald Community of Brevard, NC.
We were asked to take on this project at the end of the initial concept stage by a colleague of ours who was retiring. His professional work was primarily for high-end residential structures and light commercial. However, this was near and dear to him and he wanted to make sure it was carried forth to fruition by a like-minded archtiect.
It has been a privelege to work not only with City of Brevard officials but with a Task Force that they had chartered to be representative of the community and to help assure that the facility met the needs of all.
This building is aesthetically and to functionally based on the ogiginal historic center which opened in 1952. That building stood on this site until October 2018 and was the hub of the Rosenwald community for more than 70 years, until it was ceremonially burned when it was determined it could not be restored.
We worked with the community to refine and bring the design of the new building up to the Schematic Phase which allowed us to secure a cost estimate with the assitsance of Aiken Cost Consultants, to help the Brevard City Council establish and approve a construction budget.
The buidlng is one story and emluates the original while utilziing sustainable features and current codes. This approximately 6,000 sf facility will house a large multipurpose gathering space that looks out and can expand to a covered rear patio and open field. There are two smaller meetings rooms that for educational and craft programs, office space, storage, a large community kitchen, and associated restrooms.
This project is budgeted at approximately $1.8 million and actual construction is not anticipated until the Fall of 2021 at the earliest and will depend on the post-pandemic economics that the City will have to plan around.
As the neighborhood sees it, "The MCJCC has been a vital part of the Rosenwald Community for more than 60 years, hosting everything from birthday parties, girl scout and garden club meetings, to 50th anniversary parties and scholarship awards banquets. The community desperately needs to recapture a large part of their history by restoring the MCJ Community Center . This will give the citizens of the community a sense of pride and ownership.
"With the completion of this project, the Rosenwald community and its citizens will once again be able to remember their history while embracing the present and preparing for their future."
Mathews Architecture
