Sonia Eaddy remembers when the recreation center in Poppleton provided more than a place to go after school to learn karate or dance. It connected communities.

When the rec center opened in the 1970s, Eaddy said, she watched neighbors from Lexington Terrace public housing, Poe Homes and other places come to one, safe place to play and enjoy free activities, including summer camp.

“It was this new shiny rec center with different programs. We were all able to make claim to this,” said Eaddy, president of the Poppleton Now Community Association.

Then the center closed in the early 2000s. Some residents cited a loss in funding as the reason, but city agencies and organizers reached this week said they couldn’t recall what led to the extended closure.

Now, after years of partnerships and fundraising, the center is officially open. Neighbors, partners and city officials gathered Thursday to celebrate.

But Poppleton, a stone’s throw from the University of Maryland Medical Center, is also home to a long-stalled development project that has fallen short of its promises for new housing. Last year, the city terminated a contract with New York-based La Cité Development after two decades.

Recently, Eaddy’s neighborhood association sued the developer, the city and other officials for the failed redevelopment of their neighborhood that displaced residents. The litigation is ongoing.

It was the Southwest Partnership, a nonprofit organization that includes several neighborhoods and anchor institutions, which joined residents to spearhead the efforts to get the recreation center back open, a project not in the nonprofit’s normal wheelhouse, said Tony Scott, the partnership’s executive director.

“It may not be our strength, but if we can create the partnerships that make these dreams a reality, I think that makes it all worth it,” he said.

In 2021, the Southwest Partnership signed a lease agreement for the recreation center with the city for 15 years with an option to renew.

One local church was instrumental in jump-starting the fundraising campaign. The Church of the Nativity in Lutherville adopted the cause as a local mission project. The parish raised $400,000 in the first weekend of its effort to help fund the renovation.

“With their support, we have just been able to continue raising money,” Scott said.

Today, they’ve raised over $3 million from individual donors, foundations, and state, federal and city resources.

The partnerships also didn’t stop there.

Through volunteering and other contributions, members of the Church of the Nativity will become part of the “ecosystem of the neighborhood itself,” said Amy Rogers, the parish’s mission director. “We look forward to our continued partnership and cannot wait to see the fruit that comes of this project and building.”

The original recreation center was once lauded as a “play machine” by architects, with ramps that invited bike riding and roller skating. Eaddy said she was happy to learn there wouldn’t be a complete demolition for the new center.

“To be reminded of the history of that recreation center and what it meant to us, it wouldn’t have had the same effect demolishing it and making it new,” Eaddy said.

Renovations included modernizing the HVAC systems, refreshing the interior, installing a new roof and improving accessibility for the differently abled. The center will still sit next to outdoor playing fields and a city pool that is expected to reopen next year after a multimillion-dollar renovation.

A separate nonprofit, Southwest Sports and Fitness Alliance, will operate the building and run its programming.

Anthony Hudgins, executive director of the alliance, said in the first 90 days after reopening the center will host a performance arts camp, youth workouts, organized sports, athletic training and a content creation studio for kids to learn how to use video.

Hudgins said he is looking forward to supporting and creating opportunities for all generations and is especially interested in improving the quality of life for older people. Eventually, he said, the recreation center will offer services for tutoring, financial literacy, career assistance and development, aerobics classes and more.

“We are going to be a huge part of the transformation that takes place here, and we’re honored, blessed and grateful to be in this position,” Hudgins said.

Banner reporter Giacomo Bologna contributed to this article.