Etna Center for Community
The Etna Center for Community (ECC) is a mixed-use redevelopment of a historic building in the heart of Etna’s business district and will provide the community’s only indoor public space. To revitalize the main street, the ground floor will serve as a public library / community center and the upper two floors will provide
Backstory for the Etna Center for Community
For our community
How do we rebuild the town in a way that benefits everyone and leaves no one behind?
Etna and its people have experienced so many hardships: catastrophic job loss, tragic flood events, unequal school regionalization to name a few. Yet, Etna has found a way to bounce back from each event showing that it is a resilient community with irrepressible people. How do we ensure that the residents have the resources they need to weather the next storm?
For our children
How do we ensure that Etna's youth have what they need to compete in the 21st century?
At present, the kids that grow up in Etna are at an alarming disadvantage to their neighbors. Within our community, there are no daycares, schools, after-school programs, or indoor public spaces such as a library. We do not have educational assets, supportive resources, or spaces to access technology. There's nowhere for individuals or families to go to get the help they need. Without these essential tools and places, how can our children succeed in this increasing competitive world?
For our future
How do we create spaces that our protect our health and the environments in which we live?
So much of what is constructed today is unsustainable: fossil-fuel dependent, filled with toxic materials, and out-of-reach for the average working family. It reinforces economic disparities and cares not for our neighborhood, our watershed, or the air we breathe. With development adding so little benefit to the community it is located, how do we balance the scales? When the land around us is increasingly privatized, how do we keep a piece for ourselves and future generations?
Why the Etna Center for Community is so important to Etna's future?
Zero
Public Spaces
Residents of Etna have no indoor public places to meet one another, to host programs, or to access resources
35%
Households
One-third of Etna's residents do not have internet access at home. In addition, there are no public access points.
640
Children
Etna's youth are without access to a library, childcare, after-school programs in their community.
$26k
per capita income
The average Etna resident earns 2/3 compared to their neighbors leaving less to spend on transit, education.
