Mason-area teens now have more room to explore their interests in a safe environment now that the non-profit Building Twentyone has expanded to a new location. The teen center includes drop-in space, tutoring, and now, a skate park.
"We have a whole lot more room," says Benjamin Schartow, who founded
Building Twentyone a few years ago. "It's just two miles down the street, but it's a great location, right on a lake."
The original Building Twentyone shared a 3,000 square foot space with other tenants, but the new, N. Cedar St. location is 7,000 square feet in size and is dedicated just to the teen center. The new skate park inside not only adds a new attraction to the center, but also creates a revenue source for the non-profit.
"The students really love it," Schartow says of the 30 to 40 students who regularly come to the teen center. "We just opened the skatepark in November, and we've had a lot of positive feedback."
The new location opened in Sept., and also includes a new computer lab, stocked with computers donated by Delta Dental. Remodeling work was made possible through a grant from the Capital Region Community Foundation. While Building Twentyone is a non-religious organization, they have partnered with Journey Life Church, which is their new landlord.
Schartow is looking forward to expanding Building Twentyone's programming in the new location, including arts, poetry and DJ workshops.
Source: Benjamin Schartow, Building Twentyone
Writer: Natalie Burg, Development News Editor
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