CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Hilltop Community Center has faced come back and forth on it's future for some time, but most recently, Nueces County Commissioners unanimously voted decided on a compromise to revitalize the center.
The center will receive $10.5 million worth of improvements.
Nueces County Pct. 4 Commissioner Brent Chesney said that renovating the center was the more cost-efficient option.
"You can knock the whole thing down, which in the beginning that was my preference, or you can renovate, keep the amount of experience," Chesney said.
Corpus Christi At-Large Councilman Mike Pusley was originally in favor of tearing down the facility. He said that since the center is overdue for a much needed facelift, he said the end now justifies the means.
"I think the compromise is good, I think it's great for our community," Pusley said. "The fact that they were going to leave part of this building vacant and not upgrade it was just unacceptable."
He said that when it comes to large-scale projects like these, residential input is critical.
"The issue with that is that they were going to spend $10 million of tax-payer money without any input from the tax-payer and I just thought that was wrong," Pusley said.
He said that the updates won't just improve the center's appearance, but also, its accessibility.
"Address the ADA issues all throughout the facility," he said. "It's in need of a number of new windows and doors and making it more easily accessible."
The facility serves residents in Calallen and Tuloso-Midway, which is a core reason leaders decided on the compromise, so residents could better benefit from the building.