Detroit Opens Helen Moore Community Center and Ed Davis Park
Mayor Mike Duggan joined beloved community activist Helen Moore and neighborhood residents and other city officials for the grand opening of Helen Moore Community Center and Ed Davis Park on Dexter Avenue in the Dexter-Linwood and Russell Woods neighborhoods.
Formerly known as the Dexter-Elmhurst Community Center, the building had been owned by a neighborhood nonprofit run by Moore, but due to building deterioration and the cost of repairs, the facility closed in 2019 and sat vacant. The city acquired the building in December 2022 and at his State of the City address on Dexter Avenue in 2024, Mayor Duggan announced plans to renovate the center and name it after Helen Moore, a fierce community advocate for the center and the neighborhood for decades.
The Helen Moore Community Center, which was renovated by the city’s facilities team and will be operated by the recreation department, includes a new gym, fitness room, computer lab, art and STEM rooms, multipurpose rooms, kitchen classroom, locker rooms and offices. Construction cost $11.2 million, plus architect costs; the total project was $11.9 million, funded by American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The gym is dedicated in honor of Michael Lee Searcy, a past director for Dexter-Elmhurst Community Center who died in 2023.
Elizabethton High School Cuts Ribbon on New Athletics Facility
The Dave Rider Center for Athletic Performance at Elizabethton High School is officially open. The facility is named after the late former football coach Dave Rider, who was known and admired for making an impact in the community.
The facility features a full basketball court, an indoor turf field, and a state-of-the-art weight room. But according to Athletic Director Joe Diaz, it’s not just for the athletes; it will benefit every student in the building.
“Obviously, athletics can benefit from this, but, you know, other groups, whether it’s you know, the color guard, they’ve been in here multiple times, been able to practice, you know, ROTC classes,” Diaz said. “So it just reaches out to a lot of different groups in the school. And that’s part of the goal.”
The Chicago Plan Commission Approves Plans for DePaul's $42.4M Basketball Practice Facility
The Chicago Plan Commission approved DePaul University’s plans for a new $42.4 million basketball practice facility today.
The news was first reported by Layla Brown-Clark, a City Bureau documenter who reported live on X the Chicago Plan Commission’s meeting today.
One member of the Commission abstained, and two members were away from their table, according to one of Brown-Clark’s posts.
During public comment, five people spoke. Four were against the proposal and one was for. The last speaker, a DePaul alum, said they could not support the building of the facility in the planned location on the Lincoln Park campus, Brown-Clark shared in her posts on X.
The practice facility is planned for the corner of Sheffield Avenue and Belden Avenue, across the street from Sullivan Athletic Center and McGrath-Phillips Arena.
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