The Imagination Center at Reindahl Park, a new library and community hub designed to serve the city’s northeast side, received two major grants recently.
The Imagination Center is a collaboration of Madison Public Library, Madison Public Library Foundation, Madison Parks, and City of Madison Engineering.
Madison Community Foundation announced in November that it will give $250,000 — the largest amount among its recent round of grants totaling $1.34 million — toward the project.
The work these organizations do is vital,” said Angela Davis, MCF’s Director of Grantmaking. “They are providing support to our youth and to our immigrant neighbors. They are working hard to ensure their own financial stability, while trying creatively to meet the needs of the people they serve.”
In October, the Wisconsin Department of Administration committed $4.25 million to the City of Madison for the Imagination Center through the Flexible Facilities Program (FFP). Funded through the U.S. Department of Treasury Capital Projects Fund as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s American Rescue Plan Act, FFP grants will fund public facility expansion or improvement projects designed to provide reliable broadband access to local communities, including libraries, community centers, and multipurpose community facilities in order to address critical requirements of digital and broadband access resulting from or exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
“I’m incredibly proud to be working alongside our dedicated state agencies and federal partners to help bolster our public infrastructure, including supporting our libraries and community centers and expanding access to critical services for folks in every corner of our state,” Gov. Tony Evers said in a press release announcing the FFP grants, which included 35 projects totaling $115 million.
Madison Public Library Foundation staff worked on both the Madison Community Foundation and FFP grant applications.
Groundbreaking for the Imagination Center is expected to take place in late spring. Visit the Imagination Center web page for more information this spring.