City of Fayetteville, MBL Architecture Reopen Yvonne Richardson Community Center, Restore Neighboring Buddy Hayes Park

The multi-year, $4M renovation and park restoration deliver new classrooms, a teaching kitchen and a reimagined outdoor gathering space to one of the community’s historic neighborhoods

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The City of Fayetteville has opened its newly renovated Yvonne Richardson Community Center (YRCC), capping a multi-year design and expansion led by MBL Architecture that brings new program space to a facility that has anchored one of Fayetteville’s oldest neighborhoods for three decades.

The project, funded through the city’s 2019 bond initiative and a matching grant from the Walton Family Foundation and completed by Bryant, Ark.-based Moser Construction, grew to more than $4 million and included a full restoration of the adjacent Ralph “Buddy” Hayes Park.

The City of Fayetteville, which recently designated the neighborhood as a Black Historic District to preserve structures and cultural significance southeast of downtown, initially engaged MBL in 2019 to design a small kitchen for the aging community center. Through an extensive community engagement process with residents, center staff and city officials, the scope grew into a much larger vision for the 30-year-old facility.

The completed renovation adds 3,850 square feet and renovates 9,500 square feet of existing space.

New amenities include: two large multipurpose classrooms, a teaching kitchen with expanded pantry for dry goods and cooking supplies, a welcome and reception area with sightlines to the building’s main entrances, a community mural painted by a local artist, two new family-friendly, ADA-compliant restrooms, and enhanced space for storage of office supplies and equipment.

Improvements to the existing structure include: remodel of existing classrooms, remodeled office space for YRCC staff, upgraded hardwood flooring in the gymnasium, new HVAC throughout the existing building, and exterior upgrades for the existing building.

“This started as a plan for a new kitchen, and by listening to the community, it became something far more ambitious,” said Audy Lack of MBL Architecture. “This has been a passion project for our team from day one, and seeing it come to life for a community that has given so much to Fayetteville has been incredibly rewarding.”

The added space has already expanded YRCC’s reach. The center now serves roughly 90 children a week in its summer camp program, up from a typical 60 for its core 5-to-12 age group, along with a teen program and a junior camp counselor initiative for high school volunteers. The new multipurpose hardwood gym floor has allowed YRCC to expand its youth basketball, soccer, pickleball and dodgeball classes; while the teaching kitchen now hosts after-school cooking classes twice a week; a Monday night teen cooking program; and community meal-prep classes led by a local registered dietitian.

Ralph ‘Buddy’ Hayes Park

Across Rock Street, MBL guided the restoration of Ralph Buddy Hayes Park, a green space dedicated in honor of Ralph “Buddy” Hayes, a celebrated Fayetteville musician. Hayes, a veteran and beloved figure in the Historic Black Community of Southeast Fayetteville, turned down opportunities to perform professionally with touring bands, choosing instead to remain home and lead his own orchestra at local venues. MBL oversaw the park’s design and construction in partnership with Range and Olsson. The renovated park now includes a new outdoor stage and amphitheater intended to support the kind of live and impromptu music that has long been part of the neighborhood’s character.

The project also included restoration of the adjacent Spout Spring creek, completed through a partnership with the nonprofit Watershed Conservation Resource Center and Natural State Streams. The work cleared invasive growth, reestablished native vegetation, protects nearby wildlife and created new creek access for the community.

YRCC is named for Yvonne Richardson, daughter of former University of Arkansas head basketball coach Nolan Richardson, who led the Razorbacks to the 1994 national championship. Following Yvonne’s tragic passing at the age of 15 following a two-year battle with Leukemia, the city named the facility in her honor, along with a new mural on the building’s facade that includes a tribute to her.

“This is a magical place, and it feels good to finally have a building that matches the magic that’s already inside it,” said Josh Lainfiesta, YRCC’s director. “A lot of people came together over a long time to make this happen.”

City officials say the new addition and renovation of the existing facility provide greater visibility along Rock Street has raised awareness of YRCC throughout the surrounding area. “This center is here for the whole community,” said Alison Jumper, City of Fayetteville Parks and Recreation Director. “It’s a resource for anyone in the neighborhood who wants to use it.”

YRCC marks its 30th anniversary this fall, with the City of Fayetteville and Friends of YRCC planning community celebrations. Registration for the center’s after-school programs opens in September.

source https://zweiglist.com/city-of-fayetteville-mbl-architecture-reopen-yvonne-richardson-community-center-restore-neighboring-buddy-hayes-park/