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Calfee Community & Cultural Center details phase two work, childcare expansion and quilt project
Summary
Jill Williams and Dr. Hickman updated the council on Calfee Center construction phases: phase 1 completed, phase 2 includes museum, digital lab, a 1,400 sq. ft. kitchen and exterior upgrades; funding includes a $100,000 Cabell Foundation challenge grant and historic tax-credit proceeds, and the center described a quilt project tied to a 1947 NAACP school-equality case.
Jill Williams, executive director of the Calfee Community and Cultural Center, and board president Dr. Hickman presented a multi-part update on Oct. 21 describing finished work, imminent construction and programming plans.
Williams said phase 1 — the childcare and warming kitchen area — is complete and operating; phase 2 will add a museum, digital learning lab, community resource hub and an expanded commercial kitchen (about 1,400 square feet). "This phase is only gonna be the windows in the front part of the building... We'll have the new roof, the new windows, a tiny bit of site work," she said, and estimated the current phase’s construction work at about $1,000,000 in immediately available or reimbursable funds.
Speakers also highlighted child-care demand: the Harmon Learning Center opened recently, is licensed for 35 children and currently has 28 enrolled; Williams said the center expects to serve 97 children after later phases are complete. She outlined fundraising steps for the next phase, including a $100,000 challenge grant from the Cabell Foundation and anticipated historic tax-credit proceeds.
Dr. Hickman described the museum’s African American Heritage Center and a quilt project that memorializes the families in a 1947 civil-rights-era case (Corbin et al v. Pulaski County School Board) that preceded broader legal fights against segregation. The quilt’s squares represent families involved in the earlier litigation; Williams said Virginia Tech and the Mellon Foundation supported the project through a grant program.
Why it matters: The Calfee project combines childcare capacity, workforce-development programming (digital lab and STEAM classes), a museum tied to local civil-rights history and community resources. Councilors asked about fundraising needs and staffing; Williams said phase 3 fundraising still requires several hundred thousand dollars and that costs continue to rise.
What’s next: Calfee asked the council and community to help with fundraising and partnerships; the center will continue to present updates as they work to complete remaining phases.
