Bobo Brazil Center reopens, gym still waiting on funds
BENTON HARBOR, Mich. -- Benton Harbor city leaders held a grand opening and open house Oct. 1 at the Bobo Brazil Community Center, 472 Cass St., showcasing the first phase of renovations to the former Naval Armory. The building, named for Benton Harbor native and professional wrestling legend Bobo Brazil, had sat closed for years.
Two state grants totaling $1.5 million paid for the work so far. City Manager Alex Little said most of the first million went to the exterior, including replacing a roof with a large hole in it, repairing broken windows and tuckpointing brick that was close to falling. The rest went to the interior, which now has renovated offices, meeting rooms and bathrooms. The main gymnasium, where the event was held, has not been renovated.
Little says a $20 million EPA grant awarded to the city would have restored the entire building and added a resiliency center with solar collectors and battery storage. That center could have sheltered residents for two to three days during blackouts or extreme heat or cold.
The city still hopes to recover the money but that it is "not a sure thing."
Little says he would like the building finished within a year, but that this depends on getting the funds. He says the city had just received its occupancy permits and the meeting rooms had not been used yet.
Ox Creek Project Manager Dane Rasmussen said the center is one of the anchors of the city's larger Ox Creek corridor project.
Several members of Bobo Brazil's family attended, including his sons Steven and Carl Harris and daughter-in-law Linda Harris. They say the reopening was long overdue and that their father would have been proud. Fourth Ward Commissioner Ethel Clark-Griffin, who says she has pushed to reopen the center since taking office in 2022, called for more community input and fundraising to finish the project. Youth mentor Jaylen Vinson says many local children don't know the building's history and need places with structure and opportunity.