The Courier of Montgomery County reports that those on hand got a first look at the new Oscar Johnson Jr. Enrichment and Recreation Center in Conroe at a ribbon-cutting event Tuesday afternoon.
Touring the $38 million dollar center were staff members, city leaders and the Oscar Johnson Community Center Board and guests. The new center was formerly the Oscar Johnson Jr. Community Center. An opening date has not been announced. The ceremony celebrated the completion of the building.
Originally opening in 1994, construction on the new facility got underway in July of 2023. The city took care of project issues before its introduction Tuesday.
The namesake for the center was businessman Johnson Jr. He was Conroe’s first Black councilman. From 1975 through 1989, he served on the council. He was mayor pro tem in 1977 and 1978. The Collins and Johnson Funeral Home in Conroe is operated by the Johnson family.
In May 1993 Johnson died at the age of 52. Ruby, his widow, is a part of the center’s board. She was at Tuesday’s ribbon cutting.
The 1994 launch of the center was at 119 Avenue G. in Conroe. The center expanded in 2001 to its current building at 100 Park Place. The center features community meeting space, after-school programs for students, a lighted basketball court, playground area, picnic tables and a seasonal swimming pool.
Ruby Johnson said, “Oscar’s great legacy will live on through all the great work that he did.”
The centerpiece of the facility is the large gym. On either side of the gym meeting space is available, with an event room spanning the length of the gym.
A weight room upstairs overlooks the parking lot. An indoor walking track circles the gym on the second floor. Also on the second floor are a cycling studio, dance studios and other meeting areas.
