City plans major upgrades for San Mateo’s aging MLK Community Center, residents invited to shape the modernization process
San Mateo, California – A community center can be many things on an ordinary day: a place to swim, meet neighbors, attend a class or spend time with family. During an emergency, however, it can become something far more important, a safe and reliable place for residents who need support.
That broader role is at the heart of San Mateo’s plans to modernize the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center at 725 Monte Diablo Ave. The city is preparing improvements designed to update the aging facility, strengthen its ability to serve the surrounding community and create a resiliency center that could assist residents during emergencies.
The pool facilities are expected to receive particular attention as the city examines the center’s current condition and future needs. Rather than finalizing a plan behind closed doors, San Mateo is inviting residents to help shape what the modernization project should become.
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The process will unfold through a series of in-person and virtual workshops organized by the City of San Mateo and ELS Architecture and Urban Design. Each session is intended to give community members a chance to learn about the project, offer ideas and work directly with the city as possible concepts take shape.
The first workshop will be held Tuesday, July 14, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in Social Rooms A and B at the community center. Designed as an open house and gallery information walk, the session will introduce the project and begin gathering public input. Free childcare will be provided.
The conversation will continue Monday, August 3, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., also in Social Rooms A and B. That workshop will focus on alternative concepts and visioning. Residents who cannot attend in person will have another opportunity to participate through a Zoom session on Monday, August 10, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
By late August, the project is expected to move toward a preferred concept. Community Workshop No. 3 is scheduled for Thursday, August 27, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the center’s Assembly Room. A virtual version of that session will follow Tuesday, September 1, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Free childcare will again be available during the in-person meeting.
The workshop schedule gives residents several points of entry into the planning process, from early information gathering to reviewing concepts and helping refine a preferred direction. It also reflects the city’s effort to build the project around the people who already use the center and those who may depend on it in the future.
Project updates and additional workshop information will be posted on the city’s project page as the modernization effort advances.
