South-central Elkhart’s community center now has an outdoor component.
The Tolson Center for Community Excellence cut the ribbon on its outdoor campus Sunday. It includes an ADA-accessible playground, basketball and pickleball courts, and a collegiate-level soccer field.
Executive Director Dr. Breanna Allen said it’s the second part of the reopening that began two years ago with the new Tolson Center building. “We had to break it up into two phases, just because prices and COVID and all the things happened,” Allen explained.
In 2018, the Tolson Center’s future was uncertain, when the city of Elkhart voted to stop funding it. Since then, it’s been turned over to a separate nonprofit, and the city, private donors and other entities contributed funds for the new facility.
Nekeisha Alayna Alexis advocated for the center to be saved and now serves as the chair of its board of directors. She said the outdoor campus multiplies what the organization can offer.
“It is absolutely beautiful to be here and a testament, again, to what we can do when we work collaboratively and cooperatively and take every single member of our city seriously,” she said.
Dr. Allen said the Tolson Center’s revitalization ended up being a 16-million-dollar project. She thanked the Community Foundation of Elkhart County for staying committed to the effort, along with everyone who contributed.
The Tolson Center for Community Excellence is a financial supporter of WVPE.
