Benton Harbor City Commissioners have voted to use $521,000 in state grants to move forward with Phase 2 of renovations at the Bobo Brazil Community Center.
At their regular meeting on Monday, commissioners approved a contract with Roggow Construction for the work that City Manager Alex Little said will further prepare the facility to be reopened.
“Phase Two will go inside the front, will replace and rework the bathrooms, some of the cleaning and so forth to make part of the building usable as far as the amount of money we have available will allow us to,” Little said.
Commissioner Emma Kinnard had some concerns.
“We don’t have anything to show for Phase One, and we’re going into Phase Two,” Kinnard said. “I think when you’re doing major projects like this, we should have something to see.”
Little said Phase 1 included roof work and window replacements. Mayor Marcus Muhammad invited him to take Commissioner Kinnard on a tour to see the benefits herself.
This new Phase 2 will include repairs to the facility’s north end interior, modifications of the electrical and mechanical systems, and the installation of new finishes.
In the end, the vote to move forward was unanimous.
