via NORD
Rosenwald Annex, 1140 S. Broad St.
The New Orleans Recreational Development Commission has opened a senior activity center next to the Rosenwald Recreation Center on South Broad Street.
Available to seniors throughout the year, the Rosenwald Annex fills a gap in services, NORD CEO Larry Barabino Jr. noted during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the end of May.
“‘Something for everyone’ is NORD’s hashtag, our motto,” he said. “But in summer months, our morning senior programs would halt because we take in all of our kids during summer programs. One thing I told our mayor when I first came on is that we need to have something for our seniors year-round.”
The 8,500-square-foot Rosenwald Annex at 1140 S. Broad St. features multi-purpose rooms, a music room, kitchen area, arts and crafts room, computer lab, dance studio, game room and more. Off-street parking is available. The building also houses NORD’s FitNOLA offices and programming team.
Activities currently on the NORD website include Pilates, Zumba and other fitness classes on weekday mornings in the dance studio. The classes are free, but reservations are required.
Summer youth programs are located in the main Rosenwald building, Barabino said.
The annex building is the former NFL-Yet Club, a facility the football league helped build for the local Boys & Girls Club after Hurricane Katrina.
After-school programs will also continue in the building, NORD officials said.
The Boys & Girls Club, which partners with NORD, offered the building to the city last year, Barabino said. The city took it over in August 2020 and spent about $100,000 on renovations, officials said, before opening the annex in May.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeast Louisiana and Boys & Girls Club of Greater Baton Rouge merged to become Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Louisiana. Programming in New Orleans is currently at the NORD’s Stallings St. Claude Rec Center and Milne Rec Center.
“The annex will serve as NORD’s first facility to house and program year-round senior’s activities and events,” Barabino said. “We look forward to considerable usage and providing social and recreational opportunities for our seniors.”
Avis Brock, director of community affairs for District B Councilman Jay H. Banks, was among those who worked on the project. “I am a senior of this community, so we’re excited,” she said. “It’s a nice facility. Thanks to all those who assisted in getting this effort underway.”
