With a rich history rooted in community service and Black civic leadership, the Lawrence Community Center is entering a new chapter — and township officials want residents to help write it.
The Lawrence Township Mayor’s Task Force on the Future of the Lawrence Community Center is set to hold a public meeting on Monday, May 13, inviting residents to share input on how the township should use the Eggerts Crossing Road facility.
The meeting will be held in the Lawrence High School cafeteria from 6:30–8 p.m. It follows the township’s decision last year to take over management of the center from HomeFront, a nonprofit that had operated programs there since 2009.
Last October, HomeFront consolidated its services at its expanded Lawrenceville campus on Princeton Avenue, paving the way for the township’s recreation department to assume responsibility for the township-owned building.
Mayor Patricia Hendricks Farmer said the township plans to make improvements to the facility in the coming months.
“We own the building, and we’re looking to make improvements,” she said in an interview with the Gazette. “They’re just some general type of things—bringing it up to code for ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)—and also, it’s kind of been neglected.”
The township created the Mayor’s Task Force for several purposes including:
• To advise the Township Council on community concerns;
• Define the center’s mission and future vision;
• Engage residents to ensure decisions reflect the needs of the entire community; and
• Preserve the center’s legacy for future generations.
Farmer said the upcoming May 13 meeting will serve as an open forum for questions, suggestions and community participation.
Farmer said the township is focused on both preserving the building’s historical significance and preparing it for broader community use in the future.
“Historically, the founding of that center in the mid-1960s was based on providing services that were needed in the community—anything from Head Start to social services to food banks to economic development,” she said. “We’re looking to preserve that history, and we’re also thinking forward about how the facility could serve so many in the community.”
She noted that the center played a key role in the creation of Eggerts Crossing Village, a 100-unit affordable housing complex established in 1974.
Farmer emphasized that the public meeting is open to all residents.
“We are actually hosting a community meeting, and I welcome everyone to attend,” she said. “It’s going to be an open conversation with the task force… open to the entire community of Lawrence residents.”
“It’s an exciting time for the center and for the township,” she added. “We’re interested in opening up the space and expanding access through our phenomenal recreation department, which already does so much for so many—from young people to seniors.”
In a recent letter to the Gazette, longtime resident Jaime Coleman, who grew up attending programs at the center, said she welcomes the township’s plans but urged officials to prioritize community input—especially from the historically Black neighborhood surrounding the facility.
“With that in mind, it is imperative that Lawrencians of the Eggerts Crossing community in particular, especially those that are Black… be included in discussions and decisions made about the Center,” Coleman said.
She called the center “one of my community’s most valuable resources” and said it should return to its role as a hub where families can access childcare, learning opportunities and essentials all in one place.
She suggested the facility could support preschool partnerships, summer camps, college prep workshops, and career training.
Coleman, who now has children of her own, said she looks forward to reintroducing them to a place that shaped her youth.
“The Center and its staff kept me and my friends safe,” she wrote. “Carlos always had some wisdom to share. Elliot was real cool, while Ms. Johnson didn’t play. Justin’s support for us never wavered… Mr. and Mrs. Harley were such a joy to see every day!”
She also expressed a desire to host her new BLACK Saturday School program at the center in the future, calling it “a prime location” given its roots in Black civic leadership.
The community center is located at 295 Eggerts Crossing Road. More information about the May 13 public meeting is expected to be posted on the township website at lawrencetwp.com.
