People talk of fate of center
By Joey Pitchford
Published in News on April 11, 2016 1:46 PM
Members of the Goldsboro community met with city representatives April 7 to discuss the fate of the W.A. Foster Center located at 516 Leslie St.
The building was marked as hazardous in 2011 after city inspectors found potentially dangerous asbestos in the basement. It was later shut down by the city while a new facility was built.
The meeting was centered around what members of the community would like to see done with the old building.
City Manager Scott Stevens said that the building had long been marked for demolition, and could potentially be replaced by a park or other recreation area.
Members of the black community, for whom the building has long served as a place for education and leadership, voiced their desires find a way to preserve the center.
"Our kids can play anywhere. They play plenty already," said attendee Ravonda Jacobs. "Where are we going to teach them?"
Former Goldsboro High School science teacher Cheryl Alston said that the building, built in 1938, was all that was left of a once-thriving black community in Goldsboro. During segregation, black entrepreneurs built theaters, grocery stores and other businesses to provide the black community with services they were otherwise denied.
Mrs. Alston said that the W.A. Foster Center represented the last historical connection that black population in the area had to their community.
"Every social event in the black community came through here," Mrs. Alston said. "It was the hub of the community."
After hearing the comments and speaking to several members of the community, Stevens said that his next step was to take the information to the city council at its April 18 meeting. Several members of the council attended the meeting. Stevens said that it was likely they would vote to evaluate the costs of renovating the building as opposed to tearing it down.
Stevens said that to be done correctly the project could cost more than $1 million, money which the city does not have available and for which grants do not currently exist.
"No matter the cost, this would take away from something else we're doing," he said.
If the council votes to evaluate the building, it will be between two and four months before the costs are known.
Mrs. Alston said she felt that the center had and could allow her to help the youth of her community.
"I know the potential of the kids here," she said. "I just need a place to teach them."