Advocates for the shuttered Lee Community Center are making a last-minute bid to include renovation funding in the county’s updated capital improvement plan.
Jean Henceroth, president of the Leeway Overlee Civic Association, said $10 million in funding would allow for the upgrades needed to reopen the facility.
She spoke at a July 7 public hearing on County Manager Mark Schwartz’s proposed 10-year, $4.3 billion capital improvement program, which seeks $19.5 million for the building — but not until 2035 or 2036. Henceroth told County Board members that such a delay will doom the building.
“If we wait 10 years, it will not exist,” she said. “It has a failing roof and failing HVAC. We’ll be lucky if it lasts another winter.”
Henceroth said the proposed $10 million figure would allow for a “very usable building.” She is seeking to have the funds available by fiscal year 2028, which begins in mid-2027.
In response, County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said county leaders couldn’t agree to a funding amount and timetable without preliminary work.
“To some extent, we need a plan for what to do,” de Ferranti said. “That is a challenge we really need to focus on.”
The Board chair said his comments should not be considered kicking the request down the road.
“I’m going to engage with it,” he said.
The facility on Langston Blvd has been unoccupied since LAC Studios departed in mid-2025. Before it was used as a community center, the building served as Robert E. Lee Elementary School, which closed in 1971.
The original 1925 structure was augmented by a new eastern wing in 1957. The building last underwent a major renovation in 2000.
During a June 23 work session focused on Schwartz’s capital plan, staff acknowledged renovations to the building could be brought forward if Board members gave that direction. But at the same meeting, Schwartz cautioned that renovating the building would not only require construction dollars, but also operating funds to staff whatever programs go there.
Last year, a consultant offered three possible scenarios for the site, ranging from a basic modernization, costing a projected $6.2 million, to razing and replacing the existing structure, estimated at up to $60 million.
Bowing to community pushback over possible demolition, County Board members largely have ruled out razing at least the 1925 portion of the building.
At the July 7 hearing, Henceroth called on county leaders to “reimagine” the uses that could be served there.
“There is huge community support for this building and for its programs,” she said.
Board members plan to hold a final wrap-up session on the capital plan on Tuesday, July 14, with final action taken on Tuesday, July 21.
