A new YMCA has opened in Fort Lauderdale’s oldest Black community.
The new four-story building sits on Sistrunk Boulevard. The L.A. Lee YMCA/Mizell Community Center was constructed with the needs of the community in mind.
The city announced plans for a new building in 2016. The old building, built in 1930, had no room to expand.
City officials met with members of the old YMCA to hear what they wanted in the new building. Sheryl Woods is the president of YMCA South Florida. She says the number one ask in that meeting was a swimming pool — so they built one.
“In most black communities. We don't build swimming pools, which I think is horrible. That's a sin … and so the community was very adamant about, you know, what if every other community across South Florida has swimming pools, why can't we,” she said.
The pool will host swim lessons for kids. From 2015 to 2020, 41 children drowned in Broward County. And although Black people make up roughly 30% of the county, more than half of those 41 children were Black.
Woods said the community also asked for more access to healthcare. A clinic, pharmacy and food shop are renting retail space on the first floor.
"We've got Holy Cross moving in, and they'll have nurse practitioners available. So if anybody in the community has a runny nose or a cold, or they're concerned about maybe an injury that they might have, they will have access to be able to literally walk into that clinic, and a nurse practitioner will be there to serve them, regardless of their economic condition."
Inside the building, there's a preschool. On the second floor: a full-court gym, a fully stocked exercise room and an art gallery.
On the floor above, there is something else the community asked for — a space for performing arts.
“I want it to be spoken word, I want it to be poetry, I want it to be a place where people have a chance to share their stories through art, or performing arts and or people get a chance to come and sit and get away from all the stress in the world and enjoy a nice performance," Woods said.
Outside of the theater is a mural commemorating Sistrunk Boulevard’s history. It’s one of many art pieces in the new building.
Niki Lopez is an artist who has lived in Fort Lauderdale for more than a decade. She curated all of the art in the new building from local Black artists.
“And so for me, this is my way of giving back to the community. This is my way of showing how art can be used to say something, to stand for something to preserve history, to highlight history. And I think especially because Sistrunk is a historically Black community, it was really important for me to want to work with Black artists.”
The top floor is designated for a shared workspace and small business incubator. Broward College will also host career training and GED classes here.
“Imagine continuing ed classes for adults, imagine certification programs that Broward College is putting together so that at the end of that sessions, people will have an opportunity to have a certification and now go get jobs," Woods said. "There's no obstacle for education. We just brought the campus to the community.”
The neighborhood is part of the Community Redevelopment Agency or CRA. The agency funds projects to improve the quality of life in areas of Fort Lauderdale that have been historically underserved.
The CRA matched the $10 million that the YMCA put towards the new building.
Robert McKinzie is the Fort Lauderdale city commissioner in charge of District 3, where the YMCA is located. He fought for the project to happen.
“This is where the city did the least amount of providing services over the years, and this is why the government stepped in and said, 'hey, we have to do something different over here.'"
The spot where the new building sits once housed Broward’s only Black hospital. When segregation ended, it was used as a community center.
The new YMCA is open to the public, and memberships are discounted for Sistrunk residents.
