URBANA, Ohio — The shelves of Champaign County's historic library are stocked with games, puzzles and, yes, books.

What You Need To Know

  • Urbana is opening a youth center for teens in grades 6 - 12
  • The center is an investment to keep young people interested and involved in the city.
  • The center is a work in progress and needs $20,000 to finish renovations

But this time it's all for teens.

Urbana's Youth Center, an after-school center for students in grades 6 - 12, opened Tuesday, Jan. 26 as a place for the city's youth to get together, learn and have fun.

For Justin Weller, the project manager, the pieces came together in the fall.

“We put the word out a little before Christmas and the community came together and was able to donate more than 500 books, over 100 board games and more than 50 puzzles,” he said.

The youth center was one of Weller's campaign promises when he ran for mayor back in 2019.

He said he thought a place for young adults was missing in the city's infrastructure and programming.

“Just a place for kids to be able to sit down hang out and talk with friends,” he said.

Though he lost the election, Weller said he still wanted to make the space a reality by partnering with Grandworks.

“Grandworks is all about restoring old buildings and putting them back to use for the community,” he said.

The historic library was an easy fit.

The buildings had a few owners through it's more than 100-year history and were relatively well-preserved.

Weller and his team have spent the past few months modernizing the lounge, study room and auditorium in preparation for its opening in January.

“The paint in this part of the room is done," he said as he toured the facility. "Over there above the doors that we walked through that still has to get a second coat so this is all still very much in progress.”

For Weller, though, this isn't just a project for teens.

He calls it an investment in Urbana's future.

Since 2010, Census data shows that like many rural Ohio cities, Ubana's population is in decline.

Nearly 400 people have left the city in the past 10 years, 3.3 percent of the population.

“Everything we do at the adult level is mostly a bandaid or a stop-gap and if you really want to fix the systemic issues you have to go down to where they start which is with your kids,” Weller said.

That's why he said the city needs to invest in the next generation.

On top of a place for them to hang out, Weller said the center will also offer free meals.

“We’re actually going to usually serve dinner on real plates with real silverware,” he said.

That's part of Weller's other goal, giving opportunities to learn life skills like cooking, cleaning, sewing, all things Urbana Schools students surveyed for this project said they'd like to see.

While the center plans to open two days a week starting Jan. 26, Weller said much of the building is still a work in progress.

Some rooms won't be accessible for months, he said.

“A lot of the damage you see is old damage," he said. "It’s not getting worse. There’s not any active problems it’s just not been repaired yet.”

Still, he said it will take another $20,000 to fund the rest of the repairs and expand the space so there's room for everyone.

So far, more than 100 teens have expressed interest in coming to the center regularly.

Eventually, Weller is hoping the city gives the center annual funding to open every day of the week.