| A new gymnasium, featuring a basketball court, weight rooms, and community meeting space, will provide needed recreation programs for young people in Opa-Locka, Florida, while eliminating some of the city's urban blight. Florida International University has used Hispanic-Serving Institutions Assisting Communities funding to acquire vacant property for the gymnasium in an area of the city that has been designated as an Enterprise Community/Empowerment Zone and a proposed Brownfields economic development area. Its partner, the City of Opa-Locka's Public Works and Utilities Department, has funded concept and design studies for the gymnasium and will construct the facility. The gymnasium will be adjacent to a newly renovated city park and close to several multifamily housing developments and an elementary school, making it extremely accessible to the area's "at-risk" youth.
The gym's construction will complete an integrated plan for recreation facilities in Opa-Locka, which is located approximately 15 miles northwest of Miami. Opa-Locka is a low- to medium-income community plagued by environmentally impacted real estate. Because of low-level contamination at the gymnasium's site, which served as a medical facility through the 1980s, the project will include environmental restoration of the property.
In addition to the grant funds, the city is providing matching funds of $400,000.
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