Macon-Bibb County will celebrate the start of construction of the new Sam Hart Community Center (3283 Kingston Court) in Kings Park neighborhood with a groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday, June 14, at 10:00 a.m.
 
The new Center replaces two older houses that had been donated to the County and used by the neighborhood, and it will serve as a better gathering space and gateway to a recently rebuilt playground. Its construction is funded with $300,000 from Blight Remediation Program funds allocated for District 3. The contractor for this project is Stafford Builders.
 
“The Kings Park community is actively working to improve its neighborhood, from hosting cleanups to partnering with us to determine what it is they need,” says Macon-Bibb County District 3 Commissioner Elaine Lucas. “The people here deserve a place of their own to gather, and I’m excited we have the ability to make it happen. This, in addition to the playground and the dilapidated house demolitions, will be great for the neighborhood for years to come.”
 
In addition to the new Sam Hart Community Center, $266,000 has been allocated in blight funding for house demolition, and five of those have already been torn down. The Parks & Recreation Department was able to use $40,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds to rebuild the neighborhood’s playground.
 
This past April, the Public Works and Solid Waste Departments helped the neighborhood group with its bi-annual cleanup, which has taken place for the past 25 years. Working together, more than 27 tons of material and debris (trash, tires, furniture, appliances, yard waste, and more) were collected.