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Assistant Managing Editor SPRINGFIELD It has been a long time coming, but it looks like the Sixteen Acres Community is finally going to have their very own community center. Sixteen Acres Civic Association President Clodo Concepcion has been advocating for a new center for the last eight years. He has lobbied for state funds to renovate the center by hosting numerous rallies outside of the defunct building and has had the support of state representatives Cheryl Rivera, Sean Curran and Angelo Puppolo, State Sen. Gale Candaras, Clerk of Courts Brian Lees and Mayor Charles Ryan. Previously scheduled to officially open in late September, Concepcion said the date has been pushed back as final touches are added to the building, including new tennis courts for the adjoining park. He gave Reminder Publications an exclusive tour of the property on Sept. 13. "This was my pet project," Concepcion said. "When I started on this people said 'you're wasting your time.'" Concepcion credits the Sheriff's Department with the transformation. As a part of the department's pre-release program, inmates have been renovating the building which costs a total of nearly $1 million. Concepcion said with all that has been funded by the state, he still disagrees with some of the improvements made, largely the use of some of the interior space. "I feel like a kid that was promised a bicycle for Christmas and he wound up getting a tricycle," Concepcion stated. "I didn't get for the community what we should have got. The community was short changed. [Still] it's better than what we had before." For more exclusive photos of the newly renovated Green Leaf, visit www.thereminder.com. | ||||||
