Announcing the $300,000 expansion of Killona Community Center has been something St. Charles Parish Councilman Terrell Wilson has been hoping to do since last year.
It was a matter of funding, but that came together recently, which means the community will see the center expanded to four classrooms, two additional bathrooms and an office.
“This is a significant, meaningful project because kids and seniors are vying for space,” Wilson said. “We have more programs so we need a bigger footprint. Our hope is the outreach from the public schools and library systems can expand now that the footprint has.”
The building’s one classroom allowed holding a senior program or children’s program, but not at the same time, he said. The tight space held up holding programs or allowing for new ones, but it was critical to grow it because Wilson added, “That building is a hub for Killona.”
With the expansion, the center will grow from 2,700 square feet to 11,800 square feet. The center was initially built with expansion in mind in 2015, which means it can already accommodate additional infrastructure in electricity, plumbing or AC and heating, Wilson said.
But budgeting had been so tight overall that the Killona center’s small space was just one issue.
Upping the technology at the center is a subject that Wilson welcomed the opportunity to discuss.
“We’re surrounded by major industry such as Oxychem, Waterford III and Dow, and we reach out to them,” he said. “We’re hoping they will come through with anything needed such as technology similar to what kids are getting in schools.”
S.T.E.M drives technological needs at this time, and Wilson wants to align the center’s offerings with those of the school and library systems. He’s hoping to attract private partners to get it done so he’s been serving as a liaison between the parish and center.
Dwayne LaGrange, the parish’s director of community affairs, said Wilson has been advocating for the additional space for the center, which has had a tremendous amount of foot traffic.
“At one point, Killona was just one of those towns that people forgot about, but we’ve stepped up our efforts to meet the needs of that area,” LaGrange said. “This will help us in the event we want to host training events, career building, teaming up with Tommy Scott’s workforce program, and do some resume building and interview skills.”
The Parish Council signed off on getting engineering done with Murray Architects, which is underway, he said.
“We want to make sure they’re comfortable and have the space they need with all the different programming,” LaGrange said.
Killona Community Center
- Center offers community-based services for at-risk youth.
- Programs include after-school activities, a computer lab, summer enrichment program and specialized programs for the area’s citizens.
- Hours are Monday – Thursday 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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