Local dignitaries led by KISD Superintendent Emilio Castro, Mayor Sam Fugate and County Judge Pete De La Garza were on hand for the Douglass Community Center renovation project groundbreaking. (Photo by Erika Hernandez) A groundbreaking ceremony for the Douglass Community Center renovation project was held Friday with local dignitaries on hand to celebrate.

The Douglass Community Center, which has been attempting to be renovated for the past 15 years, will begin a six-month renovation project by K.J.M. Commercial Inc. through the efforts of the City of Kingsville, Kleberg County, the Douglass Center Board of Directors, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, and the Kingsville Independent School District.

“This is the eve of a new era,” Rev. Jerry Miller said. “To be here today to celebrate this growth with the city of Kingsville as one unit is a great accomplishment.”

Dr. Tadeo Reyna, Director of the Center for Continuing Education and Office of International Studies and Programs at Texas A&M University-Kingsville, started the process of the renovation after the Douglass Center Board of Directors approached him.

Reyna was able to secure a $675,000 grant for the project through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

“This process has not been an easy one, however I am proud to say that we accomplished what we set out to do,” Reyna said.

KISD, which currently owns the building, paid $36,000 for the architect fees for the project.

“I am blessed to be fortunate enough to be able to participate in this realization of a longtime accomplishment,” KISD Superintendent Emilio Castro said.

“Not only are we honoring the past and the present, but we are also making a testament to our future by making Kingsville an even better place to be,” he said.

Mayor Sam Fugate spoke about the history of the Douglass Community Center and how it can serve as a reminder of the city’s sometimes dark past.

“It is so important that we save this building; it is a vestige and distressing reminder of our past of segregation, prejudice, and discrimination. It is vital that we recognize our past and have it serve as a reminder that we will never go back to that in the future,” Fugate said.

Once the renovation is complete, KISD is looking to have after school tutoring at the facility with computers and other materials necessary for a student’s advancement.

“Part of the money for the grant will be used to provide computers for after school programs and we are hoping to attract other programs as well as time goes by,” KISD Chief Administrative Officer Karen Griffith said.

Jeannette Price, President of the Douglass Center Board of Directors, was a bit emotional as she expressed her thoughts about this day, which was a long time in the making.

“To be here today is like a dream come true,” she said. “I am so grateful that this dream has become a reality.”