LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A new community center will open in the heart of Louisville’s Smoketown neighborhood, bringing with it much needed resources for residents of all ages.

What You Need To Know

  • The Smoketown Community Center opens Thursday

  • New center will offer tutoring and mentoring for children

  • The Center is being operated by 502 Blueprint!, formerly YouthBuild Louisville

  • The community center is located 538 East Breckenridge Street 

Starting Thursday, May 15, Louisville’s Smoketown neighborhood will have a new community center, the Smoketown Community Center.

“Yeah, so this will be the main entrance,” Marcus Poyntz said during a tour of the building.

Poyntz is the chief operating officer of Blueprint 502! formerly known as YouthBuild Louisville. He’s excited to have a full house of participants and activities.

“We’ll be able to house all of our programs, our summer programing, our after-school programming and so forth, here at the community center,” Poyntz told Spectrum News.

The center at 528 East Breckenridge Street will be a new hub for young adults and residents alike. Perhaps a cornerstone of the community center’s mission is mentoring Louisville children and teens, providing after school tutoring, field trips, science, technology, engineering and mathematics lab and meals.

“So, just having mentors and having that positive influence in your life goes a long way, and I would say that with the youth that we serve, the mentors are also, they’re game changing. They’re life changing for a lot of our youth,” Poyntz explained.

As a former Jefferson County Public Schools teacher, Poyntz has dedicated his life to lifting Louisville’s youth, but the Smoketown Community Center will reach residents of all ages, providing adult-career services workspaces.

“We’re going to have different meetings and family-engagement nights and so forth. So, this is a space where you can come and we’re also going to be renting space.”

Even before their grand opening, the Smoketown Community Center has already made a meaningful impact.

“This building that we have, one portion of it, used to be a liquor store. We’ve added an edition on to that, so it’s kind of like taking a negative from the neighborhood and creating a positive,” Poyntz said.

And with community in the name, it made perfect sense to poll residents on other activities the center should host.

“And two of the main things were bingo and line dancing, so we’re even going to be offering bingo and line dancing here at some point.”

A grand opening and ribbon cutting will happen Thursday, May 15, at 12 p.m. According to Poyntz, funding for the new Smoketown Community Center came from grants and private donations.