Waco city leaders on Thursday excitedly heralded the beginning of renovations to the transform the Bledsoe-Miller Community Center into a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math Center for Excellence.
Driving up to the community center at 300 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., construction fencing had already been erected around portions of the building. Inside, black and yellow caution tape could be seen crossing some of the interior doorways. Mazanec Construction had already stripped wall coverings and flooring back to bare concrete in one of the center’s main rooms.
Signs of ongoing construction were clear during Thursday’s groundbreaking ceremony for the Bledsoe-Miller STEAM Center.
It was no surprise when Deputy City Manager Diedra Emerson told the assembled crowd of city and school district leaders and community members construction had already begun.
Council Member Andrea Barefield latched on to the idea of transforming the Bledsoe-Miller Center into a STEAM Center in the early days of her first term on city council beginning in 2018, and she felt the excitement of beginning to turn plans into reality as much as anyone in the crowded room.
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“I have already cried,” Barefiled said during her opening remarks.
Waco City Council Member Andrea Barefield speaks to an overflow crowd during the Bledsoe-Miller STEAM Center groundbreaking.
After turning the ceremonial first spades of dirt Barefield talked about the speed of technological change.
“All the technology we know and use today will be obsolete soon, so it’s important to put this type of educational opportunity here in the community,” Barefield said. “It isn’t fair to put it all on our schools.”
City of Waco staffers, elected officials and community leaders stand ready to turn the ceremonial first spades of earth to break ground on transforming the Bledsoe-Miller Community Center into a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math Center for Excellence.
In Barefield’s vision for the STEAM Center it is a safe space to learn and try new things for people of all ages and backgrounds.
“This will be a place for people to be creative and innovative and take it as far as the world can imagine,” Barefield said.
She wants the new STEAM Center to be a place for people to go and learn about new technologies and a launching point for entrepreneurs.
The $13.7 million renovation will be completed by the end of this year, Facilities Director Derrick Oltmann said.
The gymnasium in the Bledsoe-Miller Community Center will be transformed along with the other facilities in it during a renovation to create a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math Center for Excellence. The community center functions moved to the Doris Miller Community Center when it opened in 2023 about a mile away.
During renovations, the community center functions formerly based in the Bledsoe-Miller Center will continue at the Doris Miller Community Center, 1020 Elm Ave., which is about to mark its own milestone. The Doris Miller Community Center, which opened in 2023 in the former Doris Miller YMCA, is scheduled to hold a grand opening Jan. 25 for its indoor pool, which will be Waco’s only city-run pool.
The new STEAM Center will feature robotics and computer labs for people to learn about emerging technologies and improve their computer literacy. It will also hold a teaching kitchen for community members to learn new recipes and entrepreneurs to begin their new work.
After renovation, the Bledsoe-Miller STEAM Center will include a teaching kitchen where community members can learn new healthy recipes and food entrepreneurs can begin new work.
Plans also include a recording studio for media productions and an audio-visual immersive room for learning about the arts and the past.
Waco Mayor Jim Holmes said the STEAM Center is part of an overall workforce solution.
“It gives community members of all ages an opportunity to hone their skills in science and technology,” Holmes said of skills that will be needed for future jobs.
“Also I’m very excited about the programming and corporate and educational partners that have offered to come in here, like SpaceX and Baylor University,” Holmes said.
When it opens at the end of the year, the new STEAM Center will be generationally transformative, Barefield said.
Deputy Waco City Manager Deidra Emerson gave a presentation during a city council meeting on Tuesday, April 4, 2023, on the STEAM Center slated for the Bledsoe-Miller Recreation Center site, a 14,000 square foot facility undergoing a transformation. Construction at the STEAM center is poised to begin in December, with a projected completion date of August 2024. STEAM is a common acronym for science, technology, engineering, arts and math academic disciplines. Read more: https://wacotrib.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/waco-city-council-hears-updates-on-four-community-projects/article_9848f4b0-d33e-11ed-a56e-17ddb6aa7790.html
After renovation, the Bledsoe-Miller STEAM Center will include classroom and demonstration space where people young and old can learn about emerging technologies that will be needed for new jobs.
The Waco City Council will vote in a few weeks on an additional $1 million to renovate the playground outside the Bledsoe-Miller Community Center.
The renovation of the Bledsoe-Miller Community Center will extend outside to the walking paths, parking and playground as well.
Waco City Council Member Andrea Barefield speaks to an overflow crowd during Thursday’s groundbreaking ceremony at the Bledsoe-Miller STEAM Center.
The Waco City Council will vote in a few weeks on an additional $1 million to renovate the playground outside the Bledsoe-Miller Community Center.
A crowd gathers for Thursday’s groundbreaking ceremony at the Bledsoe-Miller STEAM Center.
City of Waco staffers, elected officials and community leaders stand ready to turn the ceremonial first spades of earth to break ground on transforming the Bledsoe-Miller Community Center into a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math Center for Excellence.
Officials and community members arrive at Thursday’s groundbreaking ceremony for the STEAM Center for Excellence at the Bledsoe-Miller Community Center.
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