LITTLE ROCK, Ark — In 2015, Immanuel Baptist Church bought the old Kroger building on Shackleford. They sat on it for awhile to get an idea of exactly what it would be used for.
Now, the brand new City Center will soon be open and it's more than just for the church.
It will house several accommodations for the community, including a dental clinic, adult education rooms, a clothing closet, and an auditorium.
City Center Director Traci Hogue hopes the education rooms will give people access to learning opportunities that they may not have had otherwise.
"We've created two really nice large classroom spaces and we're hoping to have GED's and other adult education classes," Hogue said.
"We would love to rent the facility out for all kinds of business opportunities, meetings, receptions, maybe weddings," Hogue added.
This new facility will also be the new location for the church's food pantry. This extra room in the facility will allow the food pantry to offer curbside pickup for food bags and small household appliances.
The project has cost 9 million dollars total for the church, paid for by campaign donations.
The church is hoping the center will be financially sustainable through the many opportunities to rent out the facility.
There will be a ribbon-cutting for the facility next week to officially open the building.
"We're excited and we hope the community is excited too," said Hogue.