The multi-service center first opened in 1982 and has been primarily used as a hub for the disabled community for adaptive sports and recreational use, Council member Abbie Kamin told Community Impact. These programs include activities such as wheelchair basketball, sitting volleyball, wheelchair tennis and wheelchair lacrosse, according to the multi-service center’s website.
Kamin, who represents the district where the facility is located, said the center also serves as one of the largest polling locations in Harris County, a refuge during storms and freezes, and a place where unhoused individuals have access to free showers.
“It’s a very special place that’s one of its only kind in the nation, and it’s fallen into disrepair and cannot meet the needs of the community,” Kamin said.
The facility has shown its age throughout the years, with Kamin pointing to conditions such as gym and sports equipment left in office rooms, hallways and even the theater space, as well as an old and broken HVAC system, leaky roofs and even overflowing toilets.
During the community input event, many residents shared the upgrades they believe are necessary for the facility, including more gym spacing for equipment, more security and more accessible ways to navigate the facility.
Mary Edmond has visited the facility for more than 10 years and uses a wheelchair. She said that the gym equipment left out in the hallway makes a narrow space, which makes it challenging for the visually impaired to navigate. She hopes the future project could add a space where equipment could be stored, allowing the hallway to be cleared.
“It’s been here a long time, the building is an older building,” Edmond said. “With some of the doors, wheelchairs can’t get in unless the doors are sliding doors.”
Kathryn Nowlin is also a wheelchair user and has been actively using the facility for eight years. She said during voting season, the gymnasium space, which is used to play basketball or perform theater, is instead used as the polling location. Because of this, many facility members are forced out of the gymnasium and instead have to use the already limited space at the facility.
Funding the project
Kamin said cost estimates for the project are unknown at the moment, as the city wants to get community feedback first to get a good idea of what upgrades and improvements are needed.
However, Kamin announced during the event that her office secured $11.5 million in funding from the Montrose Tax Increment Reinvestment Zone, which is expected to be approved during the April 30 City Council meeting. Kamin said part of the funding will be used to address urgent, critical facility needs, but the majority will be used as seed money to jumpstart the project. She hopes a plan can be set by next year, and that they will hold another community input event at a later date.
