The city of Benton Harbor could pursue a project to restore and reopen the Bobo Brazil Community Center, also known as the Armory. The facility at 472 Cass has been closed since 2009, and city commissioners over the years have repeatedly talked about fixing it up. Speaking to the Benton Harbor Personnel and Finance Committee this week, Assistant City Manager Alex Little said a new opportunity has come up to apply for funds through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to not only fix the building, but to get programs at the center started.
“I’ve repeatedly said the problem was that you can get grants to do the repair and capital work, but you can’t get grants to do operating,” Little said. “That changed with this.”
Little said the city could apply for a HUD COVID grant of up to $2.5 million that would repair the building and run programming at the center for two years. After that, he said the city would be on its own to keep the programs going. City Commissioner Ron Singleton was optimistic.
“We’ve been talking about it for so long, trying to get something done with the Armory, and all of the previous things that went on with it have failed,” Singleton said.
Little said the grant would cover electricity, gas, security, and more for two years. He envisioned fixing up the gym to host athletic events and setting up a broadband operation where residents could receive computer training. The deadline for the city to commit is September 30 of next year. The committee took no action, but the matter is likely to come up again.
