The community is invited to take part in tours on Friday and Saturday at the community center before it officially opens to the public on Monday.
The wait is finally over.
The new Sadye Gibbs Martin Community Center, formerly known as the MLK Community Center, is having its grand reopening ceremony tonight. The event is not what the city originally intended when it began the process of bringing the new center to life nearly two years ago. Thanks to the ongoing pandemic, the massive party has been reduced to a small gathering in order to comply with CDC guidelines and keep attendees safe.
Construction began in May 2019 to replace the MLK Community Center, which was originally built at the same location in 1960 with an addition built in 1987. Thursday’s event is invite-only but the entire community will have a chance to tour the new facility and get acquainted with the building before it officially opens on Monday. Public tours are scheduled from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 14 and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 15. No reservation is required and the free tours will be given every 30 minutes. The Sadye Gibbs Martin Community Center is located at 302 S. Maryland Ave.
The open window for attendees to swing by was designed to help reduce traffic in and out of the building so that there are no worries about social distancing requirements. All of the normal COVID-19 precautions will be in place including temperature checks, face masks and social distancing.
To take a tour, any resident needs only to go to the main entrance around the half-hour and hour mark to meet up with the next group.
Those who wish to take part in the ceremony on Thursday also have the opportunity to do so from the comfort of their own homes. The dedication ceremony and ribbon cutting will be livestreamed at 6 p.m. on the City of Plant City’s Facebook page.
The center opens Monday and becomes a voting location on Tuesday.
