Laura Glesby File Photo
Darrisha McIver outside the Barbell, where she competed in double dutch, acted in plays, and got her first job.
Visions for a revived community center glimmered in Trowbridge Square alongside the fireflies, as alders, city officials, and Hill neighbors discussed the future of the building that once housed the Barbell Club.
Hill Alder Carmen Rodriguez joined Mayor Justin Elicker and a host of city departments in convening the public input session in Trowbridge Square Park on Thursday evening about the former Barbell/Hill Cooperative Youth Services building.
Rodriguez said she has advocated for the building’s rehabilitation for her three years as alder. Now, with a boost from federal American Rescue Plan funding and a potential influx of state money secured by State Rep. Juan Candelaria, the $1.5 to $2.5 million project is soon to be in motion, she said.
Rodriguez alluded to the building’s history as a youth recreational center, Montessori school, and gathering space for the neighborhood before its closure in 2008.
“We’re gonna keep that heartbeat going,” Rodriguez said.
Alder Carmen Rodriguez.
The city is in the process of securing federal and state funding to rehabilitate the building, which has deteriorated over nearly two decades of vacancy.
City Engineer Giovanni Zinn said he plans to do a “complete gut rehab,” check for environmental toxins, implement an energy-efficient heating and cooling system, add new technology to classrooms, and make the building ADA-compliant. He said the city is treating the center as a one-story building, because using the small second-floor space would require the installation of an elevator, which would raise the project’s costs.
On the first floor, the building has six classrooms, a gymnasium, an office area, bathrooms, and a kitchenette.
The building “has to be intergenerational,” said City Youth and Recreation Director Gwen Busch Williams. She listed possible uses: a place where drill teams could practice, where soccer and lacrosse tournaments could take place, where community members could host “baby showers” and “bar mitzvahs.”
Laura Glesby Photo
Giovanni Zinn.
Gwendolyn Busch Williams.
Like many attendees of Thursday’s meeting, Busch Williams has a personal connection to the Barbell. As a child, she would walk by the Barbell club on her way home from the nearby Catholic school. “I would sneak in, because it was so lively,” she said. “Everything was going on, and I wanted to be a part of it.”
“It sounds like you guys are already set, and are just coming to tell us your plans,” said Hill North Management Team Chair Howard Boyd.
“We’re not all set,” Elicker insisted. “We’re all set on wanting to make the building nice — not on what will go in the building.”
“This is your building,” said Busch-Williams. “We’re just helping it come to fruition.”
Thursday's community meeting.
According to Elicker, the city is still figuring out how programming will work inside the building, but it’s likely to function under a combination of city and nonprofit leadership.
Community members had a chance to offer suggestions for the city to consider.
“Therapy,” Nathan Smith responded nearly immediately.
Tutoring for both young people and seniors, suggested Hill South Alder Kampton Singh.
“We definitely need job coaches, especially for people who can’t necessarily afford college,” said New Haven Rising organizer Alejandro Rojas.
What about history classes? asked Shauniqua Davis, who has helped lead Rebirth the Barbell, a separate, citizen-led group seeking to revive the community center. Civic education would help kids internalize that “anyone can be the mayor,” she said, adding that drama and arts classes would also be beneficial.
Kimberly DeBose, right, and Alejandro Rosas.
One resident who identified himself as Eddie suggested hosting workshops on food and nutrition, along with Covid-19 resources such as a testing site.
Other attendees raised concern about security at the site and the cars that speed down Salem Street. City officials replied that they would prioritize not only having a security guard, but installing cameras and appropriate lighting. Rodriguez and Zinn said they have been collaborating on traffic-calming measures for Salem Street.
Kimberly DeBose, who is raising a 4‑year-old and 6‑year-old in the Trowbridge Square neighborhood, expressed cautious optimism about the Barbell building. “I hope this doesn’t take as long as the Q House,” DeBose said, referring to the recently reconstructed Dixwell community center.
The process is in early stages, city officials said, and it will take a long time to formulate plans with community input. “This is the first of many conversations,” said Busch Williams.