Mayor Levar M. Stoney is pleased to announce that the Richmond Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities (PRCF) has expanded the operating hours of five city community centers.
The expanded operating hours for the five community centers are from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. This change in operational hours began on July 14. City community centers had been closed on weekends unless they were being used for special events. The five community centers affected by this change are:
- Bellemeade Community Center, 1800 Lynhaven Avenue
- Hotchkiss Community Center, 701 Brookland Park Boulevard
- Powhatan Community Center, 5051 Northampton Street
- Randolph Community Center, 1415 Grayland Avenue
- Southside Community Center, 6255 Old Warwick Road
As a result of this operational change, the indoor pool at Bellemeade Community Center is open to the public on Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
“Expanding the operating hours of city community centers will increase recreational and leisure activity within the community and support after school activities for youth,” said Mayor Stoney. “Giving kids and adults more opportunity and access to activities and support services that enrich their minds and improve their bodies is time and money well spent by the City of Richmond.”
With the weekend openings, the community will have access to a variety of athletic activities, to include basketball, volleyball, pickle ball, and fitness training. Other activities such as cultural arts, STEAM (fashion and design, wood working, digital photography etc.), multi-cultural programming and many other programming opportunities also become available to the community. PRCF will monitor facility usage and resident program request to adjust community center hours and programming as needed.
The Calhoun Community Center, 436 Calhoun Street, will open on weekends in the next few weeks, to bring the total number of city community centers with expanded hours to six. These six sites serve as a pilot for potentially expanding operational hours at additional city community centers in the future. Funding for this operational change was included in the city’s FY2019 budget, as presented by Mayor Stoney.
