PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — After being closed for more than 2.5 years for renovations, the Kingsessing Recreation Center reopened Friday afternoon. Nearly 100 people came out to see its $27 million makeover.
For State Sen. Anthony Hardy Williams, the Kingsessing Rec Center has been ever-present in his life as a product of Southwest Philadelphia. It’s one of the city’s oldest rec centers, having first been built in 1916.
“Some people think that this place was old when they started talking about refurbishing it. This place was old when I was a kid… and I’m 69 years old,” Williams said.
That renovation shut the rec center down in June of 2023, and work officially started in September of that year. The finished product wowed many who showed up to see it.
“This is not the restoration of simply a recreation center. This is a restoration of the soul and spirit of those of us who’ve populated this community for generations.”
The renovation, which also included the neighboring Kingsessing Library, brings indoor and outdoor basketball courts, a refurbished pool, a game room, a boxing gym and numerous new large and small community gathering spaces.
There’s also a new state-of-the-art, multi-purpose turf field for organizations like the Kingsessing Roadrunners, which has long brought youth sports to the neighborhood.
Coach Dana Mitchell said the new rec center is great for the Roadrunners.
“You can draw in kids that you normally wouldn’t be able to draw in. It’s a space that all the kids want to come… because of the new field, they want to come here, they want to have fun. So it’ll make the program bigger and better.”
Councilmember Jamie Gauthier grew up in Kingsessing and was one of many public officials and leaders who saw the project over the finish line.
“This facility can carry on the legacy of the community that has always existed here.”