Elkhart cuts ribbon on $16M Tolson Center
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In a show of perseverance, members of the Elkhart community cut the ribbon Thursday on a new Tolson Center for Community Excellence.
The building, twice the size of its predecessor, follows a tumultuous several years of uncertainty and reorganization after city leaders voted in 2018 to defund the parks department-operated community center in south central Elkhart.
Almost immediately, supporters of the center sprang up in opposition of the decision, brainstorming what became a new not-for-profit structure and plans for a new building reflective of the potential for growth in the city’s Benham neighborhood.
“This is an example of what Elkhart can do when we all come together,” Elkhart Chamber of Commerce President Levon Johnson said. “When we look at what’s happening at downtown Elkhart and the catalyst of the products that are served in that space, the Tolson Center is doing that same thing here on the south side of town.”
The new Tolson Center—which opened Thursday with performances, tours and a meal—is nearly 30,000 square feet. The $16 million project features the community center with two gymnasiums, an art room, dance room, cafeteria and meeting rooms, as well as outdoor recreation areas. It will house programming for youth, their families and seniors covering everything from fitness to art, music and literacy.
Access to the center is free, though Executive Director Breanna Allen said memberships are encouraged to ensure safety and to allow Tolson staff to build relationships with the families entering its doors. She said her goal is to create a space where all feel welcome, inspired and uplifted.
“Looking ahead I see unlimited potential in what we can achieve here,” Allen said. “And, we’re going to achieve it all together.”
Community leaders broke ground on the project in May 2022. The community center was designed by architects with METICULOUS and DJ Construction provided construction services.
Elkhart Mayor Rod Roberson speaks at the opening of the new Tolson Center for Community Excellence.
Elkhart Mayor Rod Roberson was among those concerned by city leaders’ decision in 2018 to defund Tolson, which came after some former city leaders questioned the center’s financial management. Roberson made investing in Tolson a central feature of his 2019 mayoral campaign and a new city administration has since agreed to support operations of the new, not-for-profit Tolson board.
The city, in 2020, directed $5 million to rebuilding the center, which first opened in 1991, and agreed to put forward $700,000 annually over 10 years for operational costs. In addition to other small, private donations, the new building also received support from a $2.6 million state READI grant, a $2 million Lilly Endowment grant and $2 million from the Community Foundation of Elkhart County.
“It’s personal,” Roberson told guests of the center’s opening Thursday. “This is our community. This is a community that can come together and do amazing things and it has. This is a community that can defy all odds and it did.”
The Tolson Center is initiating a soft launch of programs this month with more regular scheduling to pick up after the new year. More information about programming and membership is available online at tolson.org.
We’ll have more on the community impact of the Tolson Center in next week’s South Bend-Elkhart Region Report newsletter. You can subscribe to the newsletter by clicking here.