ATLANTA — In less than two weeks, The National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Downtown Atlanta will break ground for a massive expansion.
Director of Education Nicole A. Moore said the current center is just a start. But soon, the massive renovation will add 10,000 square feet and two new wings to the current building. There will be a new east wing with classrooms and event space.
"The west wing is the one very exciting to me! That’s where we’ll have a family gallery, a gallery that looks at racial terror and lynching and tell hard stories but create places for families,” said Moore.
Moore said in 2014 when the center was built, they intended for it to be much larger, so now eight years later they’re finally finishing what they started with a project that will take more than a year and is expected to cost $48 million.
"We’ve gotten generous donations from Mr. Arthur Blank, donations from the Glenn Family Foundation, from UPS. All of our donors who were with us before, they’ve come back,” said Moore.
They hope to raise the rest of the money from the community. Moore said this expansion will help them continue to serve Atlanta and beyond.
"To come to the center and understand what civil and human rights are and their role in protecting those rights,“ said Moore.
The groundbreaking will take place on site on October 14, and construction will start soon after. They hope to have it completed by 2024 -- just in time for the center's 10th anniversary.