When it’s finally finished, it should be a sight to behold and a beehive of activity. That will come later, but the first physical step in the process – the breaking of the ground – will take place later this month.
The City of Greensboro is inviting everyone in the community to come out and celebrate the Windsor Chavis Nocho Community Complex at the groundbreaking from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23 at the Windsor Recreation Center at 1601 E. Gate City Blvd.
At the groundbreaking ceremony, a wealth of project information will be made available to attendees.
The celebration will include a hot beverage and dessert bar and also feature the Greensboro Police Department Grill Team serving up burgers and hot dogs.
The Greensboro Public Library will also offer art activities that day for kids, and the Greensboro History Museum will be collecting community memories.
The new Windsor Chavis Nocho Community Complex is a very unique project that combines all the features of a public library, recreation center, and park into one. It will be a central location where people can find information about services that are available from local governments and by community partners.
The 65,000-square-foot building will also be a place with diverse, open and enclosed rooms for events, meetings, and programs.
This community complex has been made possible by funding – along with other support – from the City of Greensboro, Guilford County, Cone Health, Public Art Endowment, and Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership.
The $65-million complex is meant to be “an innovative and collaborative space developed by the City of Greensboro’s Public Libraries and Parks and Recreation Departments.
The 65,000-square-foot facility, city of Greensboro officials say, will “provide residents a place to learn and play together; improve daily living through health and wellness, offer access to City of Greensboro and Guilford County services, promote lifelong learning and encourage social interaction.”
It will feature attractions like an indoor aquatics space that includes a lazy river, water slide, and a lap pool.
It will also have “a teaching kitchen, gymnasium, walking track, weight and fitness rooms, plus a fully renovated outdoor park with a multipurpose field, covered basketball pavilion, and dedicated natural areas.”
This summer, Cone Health announced that it planned to donate $5 million toward the construction of the new complex.
At that time, then Interim Greensboro City Manager Chris Wilson said the complex represents a brand new approach to the delivery of public services.
Greensboro Mayor Nancy Vaughan has called the community complex “truly a one-of-a-kind multi-functional space.”
The people who are currently served by the Windsor Recreation Center, Vance Chavis Library and Nocho Park, according to city officials, have experienced a substantial lack of access to needed services for years – and this center is, in part, meant to help those in the area get easier access to services.
The facility will be a “community gathering center” that offers visitors things like maker spaces, lounges where they write, work or study, and spaces geared toward different age groups. It will also have a teaching kitchen, gymnasium, walking track, weight room, fitness room, and “sensory spaces.”
If that’s not enough, the park connected to the complex won’t just have the traditional playground and ballpark: It will also have “universal play spaces,” outdoor gym facilities, and “a place to celebrate the significant history of a community.”
Guilford County departments such as Public Health, Social Services, and the Cooperative Extension will offer services to county residents there. For instance, eligibility services, including Medicaid, will be offered – as well as Food and Nutrition, and Women, Infants, and Children services.
Of course there will be lots of classes held there – including those focused on wellness, exercise, health and nutrition.
“Nocho” Park was named for Jacob Robert Nocho – an African American teacher, humanitarian and community leader who moved from Pennsylvania to Greensboro in 1840 and later established an African-American school at St. James’s Presbyterian Church.
He became the first black federal postal clerk and he was a highly influential leader in Greensboro.
In 1937, Nocho Park opened the first Windsor Recreation Center, which was funded by the federal Works Progress Administration Act. The center was named for William Blackstone Windsor, who passed away in 1932. He was the superintendent of the Greensboro Negro Schools.
In 1968, the old Windsor Recreation Center was replaced by a newer facility. That meant improvements, but it also meant the loss of some of the previously heavily used features such as a large “lake-sized” swimming pool.
