Salisbury set to renovate Newton Street Community Center

SALISBURY, Md. – 306 Newton Street may not look very attractive right now with boards covering the lower level windows and doors, one child even said it looks like a “haunted house”, but the city hopes it will soon become a beacon of light in the community.

“This brings to a neighborhood that doesn’t have an afterschool facility, afterschool programming. This creates a safe space for young people to be, where great programming can be provided on weekends, after school and all summer long,” said Salisbury Mayor Jake Day.

The property is situated in what Kevin Lindsay, the city’s neighborhood relations manager called the “triple play” because a playground and the Camden Community Garden sit right across from it.

“You have all this lined up here community garden, playground, community center. It’s perfect,” Lindsay said.

The garden is key because the community center will get a brand new kitchen that Day and Lindsay envision will be the perfect place for children to cook what they grow in the nearby garden.

“That’s what we’re going for. Kids can see where their food came from, get hands-on with it, prepare it and then enjoy it,” Day said.

Construction is expected to be completed by the end of the summer, but children in the area were already excited when they heard the news.

“I like it because it’s been vacant for a long time,” Ty’mere Brown said, “It’s going to get all the kids into one place.”

And that’s exactly what Mayor Day and Lindsay want to happen. Since Day became mayor in 2015, he’s put an emphasis on building community centers for youth in the area to flock to. Giving them a better option than hanging out on the street. In 2018 the city opened the Truitt Street Community Center, which has a gym for children to play in. Newton Street will have a different vibe.

“It’s not like a regular community center where you think ‘hey basketball court’, you know, this is going to be like a more home type atmosphere,” Lindsay said. “They’re looking for somewhere where they can do their homework, they can get a meal,  they can sit around and get some mentoring and this is a safe place so this is a perfect opportunity.”

Lindsay adds having a “home” feel to the center may help because some children in the area need that in their lives. He also feels that once the center opens, the community will buy-in.

“When you’re in a community like this, one of the things you think of is… they really don’t care about what’s going on. Trust me, they do. Sometimes people just a need a little guidance, a little help…they want this,” Lindsay said. “They just want an opportunity and this is the opportunity.”