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ROCHESTER — Plans are in the works to completely renovate and expand the Rochester Community House, if funding can be secured.
The city of Rochester, with unanimous support from the Rochester City Council, has applied for a $2.5 million state of Michigan Labor and Economic Opportunity capital project grant to support the Rochester Community House.
“We are applying for as many grants as we can, but this is a significant one. This is a project that we have been working on for multiple years,” Mayor Pro Tem Nancy Salvia said. “We want it modernized. We want it expanded. We want it to be open more, and accessible more, and accessible to more people in our greater Rochester community.”
The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity is offering up to $60 million in Community Center Grant program funds for Michigan municipalities and organizations to expand programming or work on capital projects. Award winners will be announced by the end of October, but the total request from one organization cannot exceed $2.5 million.
“This is the first step to get a shot at $2.5 million, which would be significant,” City Manager Nik Banda said. “We feel like we’re in a good spot to compete, on our side.”
If the city is successful in securing the grant, city officials say the approximately $3.2 million in renovations of the Rochester Community House would make the building largely maintenance-free for the next 20 years. The northern portion of the building would be removed and replaced with a much larger conference and gathering space, an improved lookout meeting room to the east, and a walk-out basement space with a second kitchen. The south end of the building would get new decking and siding, a roof, and other improvements.
“I think we owe it to the community to give this house some love, and I hope we get this grant,” Mayor Stuart Bikson added.
The goal of the renovation, city officials said, is to improve the appearance and useability, and to make the building as maintenance-free as possible for the foreseeable future.
Beyond the city’s renovations, Rochester Community House Executive Director Alan Smith said, the nonprofit is also planning extensive interior improvements and has already completed landscaping projects through a fundraising campaign titled “Polish the Gem.” The goal is to raise $500,000, and to date, Rochester Community House has raised approximately $150,000, with $50,000 pledged for the kitchen renovation.
“When we know the result of the city’s grant application, we can plan the next phase of our fundraising and prioritize the updates for the interior,” Smith said.
Nestled in the Rochester Municipal Park at 816 Ludlow Ave., the Rochester Community House is a private, nonprofit organization that has opened its doors to the public, receiving its operating revenue from donations, enrichment classes, building rentals and fundraisers.
Former Director Mary Lee Kowalczyk was instrumental in starting the Rochester Community House by first approaching the city of Rochester about using the 1934 Avon Pavilion — a 30-by-60-foot log building with a fieldstone fireplace in what is now Rochester Municipal Park — as a meeting place for local service groups. After a successful fundraising campaign and a building renovation, the Rochester Community House opened on July 23, 1975.
Over 45 years later, the Community House serves thousands of residents and businesses annually through its support of local nonprofits, enrichment and education classes, and room rentals for weddings, reunions, fundraisers, business functions and other events.
Boy Scout Troop 125, which has a membership of over 50 Scouts, is one of the many local groups to meet at the Rochester Community House.
“We love the Community House,” said Boy Scout Troop 125 Scoutmaster Christopher Cobb. “It’s not just a place where we meet to learn to tie knots, read a compass and bandage up a wound. It’s where families — brothers, sisters, mothers and everyone — meet all the time to develop character and learn and grow and to do all those great things. … We are excited about the future of the Community House.”
Tom Gray, a member of the Knights of Columbus, said the group gathers at the Community House every month and hosts seven Lenten fish fry events to raise money for local charities.
“We use the Community House a lot. It’s just a great place,” Gray said. “It’s a real gem for the city of Rochester, so anything that can be done to make it better than it is now we would greatly appreciate.”
For more information, visit rochestercommhouse.org or rochestermi.org/rch.
