Edinburg, TX (KRGV) — Hidalgo County Precinct 4 broke ground Thursday on a nearly $9 million community resource center.

The center will be built on Carmen Avila Road near Harwell Middle School. Once it opens, it will offer educational programs, job training, wellness workshops, and more.

Hidalgo County Precinct 4 Commissioner Ellie Torres says the area needs the center. 

"Back when we had the vaccination clinics when COVID happened, we experienced the community coming out, and we immediately reaffirmed what we already knew—that there was a need here for a community resource center," Torres said.

Torres said savings from other projects are funding the work.

"It's going to have a gymnasium, an outdoor pavilion, a play area, a grand parking lot," Torres said.

Sandra Sanchez told Channel 5 News the community has waited a long time for the center. She said the groundbreaking means more than a new building.

"It’s a center that changes lives," Sanchez said.

A cancer diagnosis six years ago led Sanchez to another community center in the San Carlos area, where she found support and resources. 

"They bring services like health, organization, education, and food assistance. There are many things the community center offers," Sanchez said.

Sanchez said she has lived in the area for 10 years and plans to teach sewing classes at the new center. She started the program at the San Carlos center and travels there three times a week to teach.

"I think there have been about 250 women in my classes whose lives have transformed," Sanchez said. "This area in the county has grown a lot. The population has doubled in this area, and it's important there are more resources for the community."

Torres said she hopes to open the center to the community in about 14 months.

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