Former Tolentine center to have more accessiblity, upcoming meeting will discuss future programming

The recreation center at 1025 Mifflin Street, formerly known as Tolentine, is getting a new beginning.

Now that the center is no longer Tolentine, plans for the building will include more accessibility, along with a new list of community programming with the input of the neighborhood. To voice your opinion on the future of the center, a meeting will be held on Sept. 23 at the 1025 Mifflin Street Community Center.

At last night’s East Passyunk Crossing Civic Association meeting, Leo Dignman of the city’s Parks and Recreation department spoke on the future of the facility. A large portion of the residents were concerned about programming at the center being discontinued, especially the after-school programs for kids and programs for senior citizens.

While these things won’t restart up immediately, Dignman said Parks and Recreation wants to re-introduce them as soon as possible now that the city owns the center. Some of the programming, specifically the after-school and senior programs, is expected to start up again as early as October. They also are hoping to introduce new programming to the facility, with feedback from the community.

As of September 21, the city will once again have ownership of the building and those involved with Tolentine will be moved out of the facility. In order to get the facility back to being a community space, they are working to hire a new staff. According to Dignman, there will be $175,000 in salary allotted to permanent staff members, in addition to seasonal staff that they will also hire.

A landscape architect has also been looking at the exterior of the facility to improve the greenery there. As you have probably noticed, the facility being fenced off and hidden behind shrubbery hasn’t exactly helped its accessibility to the community.

Have ideas for community programming for the center? You can attend the meeting at 1025 Mifflin Street on Wednesday, September 23 at 7 p.m. to share your ideas.