By Michael Durand

A groundbreaking event was held by the Community Youth Center of San Francisco (CYC) on Nov. 10 to celebrate the vision of the future home of the Richmond Community Hub. The Richmond Community Hub will take over the empty building at 952 Clement St. and will provide services and resources to residents in the Richmond District and throughout San Francisco.

The Richmond Community Hub was designed to provide space needed to serve the growing needs of the community. The building will house the CYC workforce development programs and provide shared community space for other service providers to connect with residents. 

The Richmond Community Hub will also serve as a resource center where youth, adults and seniors can drop in to get information and get connected to vital programs and services.

Speakers at the event included California Assemblymember Phil Ting, SF Mayor London Breed, District 1 Supervisor Connie Chan, Former District 1 Supervisor Sandra Lee Fewer, as well as other city officials and CYC leadership.

A planter box filled with dirt for officials to lift ceremonial shovelfuls of earth was placed on the sidewalk in front of the building to symbolize the groundbreaking. After the speeches, attendees were invited to step inside to see that the walls have been demolished and the building’s exposed beams.  

CYC has been serving youth in the Richmond District for more than three decades. The building will house workforce development programs and will provide shared community space for other service providers to connect with residents.

“CYC has done extraordinary work for the Richmond,” Ting said. “I was happy to be their champion in Sacramento, securing $2.5 million in state funding for its new center. This investment will ensure the organization’s impact will be felt for generations to come.” 

“I am so excited to celebrate the official groundbreaking of CYC’s new youth center right here in the heart of the Richmond District,” Breed said. “CYC has provided essential services to our City’s youth and families for over 50 years, and today’s groundbreaking marks our commitment to bringing permanent services to the west side.”

Chan agreed.

“Transforming this vacant storefront into the Richmond Community Hub will be a game changer for how neighborhood residents and the community can access key services and programs in addressing emerging needs,” she said. “Thank you to Community Youth Center for advancing this vision of building up a space – a permanent home – that works for and with youth, adults and seniors to strengthen the safety net of the Richmond.”

For more information, go to the Community Youth Center website HERE.