LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) -- The grand opening of the Josephine Pankey Center will take place this Tuesday at 11 a.m. The site of the new building already has a long history. It sits where the Pankey School once sat in the first half of the 20th century. That school was established by former community developer and philanthropist, Josephine Pankey.
The new building continues in the spirit of Pankey’s life mission with its community centered features. The new building is over 6000 square feet. The majority of the center will be used for a new police substation. The rest will be used for a community center.
The substation could have a big impact on people living in West Little Rock by increasing police presence. Jennifer Godwin, communications manager for the City of Little Rock said the station will increase police presence in that part of the community because the current closest substation is on Kanis Road. That will help increase response times in emergency situations.
There will also be some motorcycle officers there to increase response time.
THV11 will be at the ribbon cutting on Tuesday.