Northbrook’s Community Center, formerly called the Leisure Center, offered an open house Sunday, Aug. 23 to introduce the public to the remodeled space after nearly a year spent on renovations.
About 800 people of all ages attended the event, exploring the new community spaces and joining various classes, performances and activities, said Erin Sweet, superintendent of arts and recreation at the Northbrook Community Center.
The Northbrook Park District remodeled nearly every space across the community center while leaving the footprint the same, Sweet said, adding the goal was to create additional space for the center’s growing programs.
Some of these programs include weekly activities for seniors, preschool and youth programs, summer camps, theater, arts, fitness classes and cooking classes.
The $12.1 million project was funded partly by a $2.8 million state grant, with the rest of the cost covered by the Park District’s general fund, Chris Leiner, executive director of the center’s administration building, told the Pioneer Press.
As part of the renovations, Sweet said the theater spaces in the building received a much-needed upgrade.
The Northbrook Theatre, a 268-seat performance space that has hosted performances in the center for over 40 years, received renovated dressing rooms and rehearsal areas. Additionally, a black box style studio theater was added, with seating for 172 people.
“We really got to update this facility for the programs that we offer now, as well as the ones we want to grow into,” Sweet said.
Sweet said another important aspect of the renovations was to add more windows throughout to help bring in more natural light.
The renovations also revamped the kitchen space, adding equipment for cooking classes and workshops. During the recent open house, children and parents gathered for a class where they made a recipe together.
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In a different room, adults could be seen taking an introductory-level dance class.
“We wanted the building to reflect the quality of the programs that we offer here, and the community that we get to offer it in,” Sweet said.
In addition to the theaters and program spaces, the building also houses Sunshine Preschool and the Northbrook Senior Center.
The community center has served Northbrook residents since the park district acquired it in the 1980s, but the layout and design never changed to accommodate the center’s growing offerings. Leiner said the building was originally built as a school in the 1960s.
“A lot of the feedback that we got was, let’s make it feel different than a grammar school, because you used to walk in and it felt like a school,” said Leiner. “And our goal was to make it feel like a community center, open it up, give you the ability to see into the program room, see what people are doing.”
Leiner explained the building’s former name, the Leisure Center, was sometimes confusing to residents. The park district ultimately renamed it the Northbrook Community Center.
Community feedback played a large role in shaping the renovation process, Leiner said, with the district holding several meetings and sending out multiple surveys to receive input from residents and staff members before construction took place.
Leiner emphasized the community center forms connections over generations. Many children who attend preschool at the center come back to participate in programs through their teenage years, and some even return to later work at the center, Leiner said.
Programs and events taking place at the Northbrook Community Center this fall include:
- Cooking classes for parents/tots, youth, teens and adults
- Expanded visual arts classes for families, children and adults
- The return of Northbrook Theatre for Young Audiences with “The Tale of a Whale” on Sept. 11-20 and “Pete the Cat” on Nov. 14-Dec. 6
- “Beetlejuice JR” by Northbrook Theatre Youth Company on Oct. 20-25
- “Fools” by Northbrook Adult Community Theatre on Nov. 6-8
- “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus” by Northbrook Community Theatre on Dec. 11-13
- Youth, adult and senior drama classes
- Dance classes for parents/tots, early childhood, youth and seniors
- General interest classes for ages 0 to 14
- Senior Center classes and activities for ages 55 and up