New Community Center Concept
Blairstown Rotary is celebrating our 75th year serving Blairstown and northern Warren County. Over those years we have conducted many projects for the community, including the pavilions at Footbridge and Sycamore parks. For the past year we have been looking for another major project to mark our anniversary.
We surveyed residents at various town events to find out what was important to them. The feedback was a desire for a community center where groups could meet, classes could be held, and people could come together.
We studied the feasibility of the project and searched for an available location. One potential building identified was the Givens-Belet Memorial Hall on Hope Road, which was built around 1940 for American Legion Post 258.
The Legion donated the building and property to Blairstown Township in 1981, so it is owned by the town. It is still home to the Legion and is used occasionally by other groups, but it has been under-utilized for many years. The building needs repairs and modernization, but after inspecting we found it to be structurally sound and well built. We presented the idea of rehabilitating the property to the Township Committee and they were very supportive of the idea.
We worked with local architect Ray O’Brien to develop the concept drawing above and bring our ideas to life. What you see is a very realistic view of our plan to upgrade Givens-Belet and turn it into a more usable community center for the town. It will still be owned by the town and run by the town. It will remain the Legion’s home. The update will allow for easier access and will be fully ADA compliant.
We worked with local architect Ray O’Brien to develop the concept drawing above and bring our ideas to life. What you see is a very realistic view of our plan to upgrade Givens-Belet and turn it into a more usable community center for the town. It will still be owned by the town and run by the town. It will remain the Legion’s home. The update will allow for easier access and will be fully ADA compliant.
Rotary will be investing $50,000 in the project and will be working to gather support from other organizations and residents to raise the additional funds required. There will also be many opportunities for volunteer involvement. Our goal is to provide a substantial portion of the upgrade without spending town funds. Watch this page and our Facebook page for additional information and reports on our progress.
This is a sustainable project that will benefit our community for many years to come. Blairstown Rotary is excited to support it and we want to sincerely thank all who have contributed to our fundraising over the years for making this investment in our community possible.
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