'A transformative space': the Elese Tomlin Empowerment Center breaks ground in Groveland

GROVELAND — Designed to be a bigger, better hub for community resources, the Elese Tomlin Empowerment Center broke ground on June 13 at 824 E. Broad St.

The city-run facility will improve on its current Elese Tomlin Center, which provides free after-school programs, summer activities and vocational enrichment along with gatherings of the Women’s Ignite Network, veterans and seniors' enrichment programs, ESOL classes and a GED preparation class.

Gainesville's Scorpio Construction is building new Empowerment Center, and Walker Architects designed it.

The 3,800-square-foot building will cost about $2.1 million and have facilities for all ages, including kids-focused amenities such as a mini library, game room and computer room.

The Live Well Foundation of South Lake has, in large part, funded the new facility through its "Transformation Grant," and according to a city press release, the foundation has recognized the potential positive impact of the new facility's programs developed by Anointed Community Services International in collaboration with the city of Groveland.

Expect a training room, conference room and two business incubators along with expanded educational programs and new vocational training opportunities all in one place — a place that will be a "beacon of hope" for Groveland residents, said Mayor Evelyn Wilson.

Community officials gathered on June 13 with business and nonprofit leaders to celebrate the new center.

Who was Elese Tomlin?

The current center that opened in 2018 got its name from Groveland's longest-living resident, who relocated to the city more than 100 years ago from White Springs.

Elese Tomlin lived to be 107 and died in 2012. According to the Orlando Sentinel, the beloved matriarch worked in the family of a local judge, cooking and cleaning for them for four decades until she retired in 1965.

She stayed plugged into the Groveland community and completed personal chores all the way up until age 102.

On her death, Tomlin left behind daughter Bernice Louise Harris of Groveland, sister Julia Dorsey and brother James Harris; six grandchildren; 17 great-grandchildren; 43 great-great-grandchildren, and more than 13 great-great-great-grandchildren.

"She was a legend in this area, and all the churches around here. She served wherever she could," said Billy Lock, a longtime pastor at Harmony Baptist Church, of the center's namesake.

'A God moment' in the making

The property where the current center sits at 204 E. Gadson St. was once a haven for drug dealers and disregarded by several city officials.

A decade and a half ago, before she would became mayor, Mayor Wilson got to work collaborating with church pastors, citizens, nonprofits and other city officials, planning town hall-like conversations and a community garden.

Wilson admired the ideas of the center's founder, Dr. Linda Cowels. "I would speak at Women Ignite events," the mayor said, adding that she supported the Elese Tomlin Center in its embryonic years more than a decade ago.

"This is the sort of project that makes me proud to be a councilman," City Councilman Mike Radzik (vice mayor, District 2) said at the Tomlin Center's first center groundbreaking in 2018. He also told the Daily Commercial that the idea for the center grew out of a community meeting 11 years ago in the Blue Street area.

Fast forward to June 13, 2024: Cowels, CEO of Anointed Community Services International, expressed joyful enthusiasm at the new-and-improved center's groundbreaking.

“The Elese Tomlin Empowerment Center will be a transformative space,” she proclaimed.

The nonprofit leader shared that she had her eye on the new property a decade ago, during the planning stages of the center's first facility at 204 E. Gadson St.

"A consultant of mine and myself had our eye on this property when there were three buildings here," Cowels reminisced in her talk at the groundbreaking.

"We literally went to the city and said, 'Do you own this? Can we buy this, and the city said no at that time. It was belonging to residents, and lo and behold after we moved into the (current) Elese Tomlin building, those buildings here were demolished. We didn't think anything of it, but we had our eye on this property, and for this to be happening today through the generous gifts of the Live Well Foundation, it is truly a God moment."

“This center represents a significant step forward in our commitment to enhancing the quality of life for all Groveland residents,” Mayor Wilson said during the groundbreaking.

A grand opening date and ceremony will be announced when the new center is complete, offering a chance for residents to tour the facility and learn more about the programs and services available.

For more information on the new empowerment center, call Dr. Linda Cowels at 352-404-7898, info@anointedcs.org or visit anointedcs.org.

This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Groveland's new headquarters for empowerment breaks ground