Pine Hills area leaders got the funding for a new cultural center in a long-vacant grocery store.
- Commission approved funds for Pine Hills Cultural Center
- Huge center will be in a vacant grocery store
- Officials hope to open the center in 2018
- PREVIOUS STORY: Pine Hills Cultural Center could take over long-vacant store
On Tuesday, Orange County commissioners approved a $2.5 million investment into renovating an old grocery store and turn it into the Pine Hills Cultural Center.
Pine Hills Seniors, a group made up of about 100 members from the area, plan to make the new center their home.
"I hope we will have one of the top community centers and that we will be able to build on the community's culture," Pine Hills Seniors member Cynthia Williams said Tuesday.
The $2.5 million dollars comes from the county's INVEST Fund. Each district has been allocated $5 million to invest in the area of Orange County.
So far the funds have gone towards building affordable housing communities throughout Orange County.
The funds are also going towards building three new fire stations, investing in the restoration of the counties parks and improving roadways.
"We want to make sure that they understand that as a board, as a county, we recognize, we acknowledge them and we understand what is happening. And we want to be part of that change," Orange County Commissioner Victoria Siplin said Tuesday.
The Pine Hills Cultural Center will be located in a 56,000-square-foot former grocery store at the corner of Colonial Drive and Hiawassee Road. It will be bigger than any similar facility in west Orange County, and serve as a one-stop resource center for residents.
Commissioner Siplin hopes to have the Pine Hills Cultural Center up and running some time in 2018.