City unveils rebuilt Penacook Community Center
An aerial drone photo by William Brochu of Brochu’s Nursery and Landscaping of the Penacook Community Center and playground area off of Commnity Drive in Penacook. Brochu’s did the landscaping for the project. William Brochu / Courtesy
An aerial drone photo by William Brochu of Brochu’s Nursery and Landscaping of the Penacook Community Center and new library off of Commnity Drive in Penacook. Brochu’s did the landscaping for the project. William Brochu / Courtesy
An aerial drone photo by William Brochu of Brochu’s Nursery and Landscaping of the Penacook Community Center and playground area off of Commnity Drive in Penacook. Brochu’s did the landscaping for the project. William BrochuCourtesy
| Published: 08-11-2024 12:03 PM |
In a few weeks, children will be back in the Penacook Community Center for the first time in nearly 18 months.
But it will look quite different.
At a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday, local officials and the Boys & Girls Club of Central and Northern New Hampshire unveiled the newly built 8,900-square-foot building, which will house early childhood and after-school programs, as well as a branch of the Concord Library.
The $6 million project replaces the old community center, which had significant structural issues.
“When you don’t have to worry about the sink plugging up, or worrying about a basement flood, or worrying about whether or not the roof is going to leak, you can concentrate more on what you’re really supposed to be concentrating more on, which is the kids,” said Chris Emond, the CEO of Boys & Girls Club of Central and Northern New Hampshire.
The community center previously consisted of one cinder-block structure and two houses in the same area as the new center. The library was located in Penacook’s downtown area in another building that was not in good shape.
The Boys and Girls Clubs merged with the community center in 2022 and the organization determined that a new building was necessary. When they began planning the rebuild, the city reached out about a partnership that included the library, Emond said. The city will pay approximately $1 million for the library’s new 1,400-square-foot space.
The new building, which has solar panels on its roof, is nearly entirely energy self-sufficient, according to Emond.
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The community center has slots for 46 infants, toddlers, and preschoolers in its early childhood program and slots for 45 school-aged children in its after-school program. The early childhood program is fully enrolled for the coming year, while the after-school program still has some space, according to Emond.
The center is also still looking to hire four or five early childhood teachers, Emond said. It will open to children for the first time on August 26.
Jeremy Margolis can be contacted at jmargolis@cmonitor.com.
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