The proposed Latino Cultural Center for the City of Phoenix will be a multi million-dollar facility that has been in the works for almost 20 years. The center will host new programs and initiatives to unite the community and showcase Latino arts and culture.
“This is going to be a jewel for the city of Phoenix,” Councilman Michael Nowakowski, District 7, said to City Council Tuesday during the Policy Session. “I believe it’s going to be a destination point for the center of Phoenix also.”
The LCC is part of the city’s vision to create a visible Latino cultural presence in Phoenix. The vision originated in 2001 when the Phoenix Bond Program allocated funding for Museo Chicano, a museum that promoted the appreciation of Latino art, history, and culture. Since the closing of the museum, the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture hired a consultant who created the Cultural Needs Assessment and Feasibility Study in 2017 for a Latino Cultural Center.
In the study, residents expressed the need for an inclusive space that could bridge the many diverse streams of the Latino experience in Phoenix for residents and visitors.
Demographic data shows the rapid growth of the Latino population in Maricopa County, surpassing census projections that Latinos will make up 50% of the total population in the U.S by 2020, according to the study.
“The Latino community and the Chicano community have played a huge role in the building of this city,” Councilmember Carlos Garcia, District 8, said.
In 2019, Mayor Thelda Williams created the Latino Center Ad Hoc Committee to develop a business, programming, and partnership plan, as well as consider locations for the LCC. Their final report provided the steps the council should take.
“There were a lot of different types of discussions and a lot of diverse backgrounds, but I am thankful for everyone wanting to have a Latino Cultural Center,” Vice Mayor Betty Guardado, District 5, said.
See related: The Latino Cultural Center’s fraught history
The ad hoc committee recommended the North Building adjacent to Margaret T. Hance Park as the site for the center due to its size of 22,000 square feet with ample parking and access to programmable outdoor space.
A programming pyramid was also created by the Programs and Services subcommittee. The subcommittee organized which types of programming would take priority in the space, with resident art and culture organizations in tier one and curated mission-specific programs like classes and lectures in tier two.
The Fundraising and Partnership Subcommittee who advised the council on potential opportunities with corporate, foundation and government entities. The subcommittee created a two-phase capital campaign. Phase one included a feasibility study to determine the amount of capital that could be raised and phase two included the planning and management of the capital campaign, according to the final report.
“Now we have an absolutely great plan. Something the city of Phoenix can be proud of. Something generations can enjoy,” Councilwoman Thelda Williams, District 1, said.
Even with the plans, Garcia said that there is still more to be done before the center is ready.
“I still think we still have a lot of work to do,” he said. “We need to make sure that, because of all the years that it took, we get something amazing.”
Contact the reporter at daprest2@asu.edu
