The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce will conduct a feasibility study on a new community center, through a new Three Star Grant.
Jackson County Chamber President John Deane said the $157,000 grant will help explore the parameters on the historic Fox Middle School Building. Deane said the study will determine what activities could work inside the building. Deane said the grant is pivotal as he believes the Chamber would not be able to move forward with the planning phase of the project.
“I mean this building, being built in 1939, will need new heating and air conditioning, electric and plumbing, but just alone those elements will be a significant cost to solve for,” Deane said.
Deane said the feasibility study will determine what activities could go into the building, assist with the design of the community center, and determine pricing options. Deane said the Chamber will use the estimated 300 responses from the community survey to determine what activities the community center will aim to provide.
“It’s probably likely that the building will have multiple purposes and not just one,” Deane said. “But the public support is very strong for an expanded public library and for a division of the Cookeville YMCA, which is on offer to provide physical fitness, health, and wellness programs in the center, leveraging the classroom spaces as well as the gymnasium.”
Deane said there were some other ideas from the community, but those ideas will be kept to the chest for now. Deane said the goal is to complete the feasibility study so the chamber can begin securing funding for the project.
“The ability by say April of next year, 2026, to tell the story to grant makers and to donors as to what the dream here is in terms of revitalizing this building into a productive use for the community,” Deane said.
Deane said there is a long road ahead for the project. Deane said it will likely take a couple of years to go from now to opening the doors of a new community center in Gainesboro.