An East Tennessee community showed off its newly-expanded and renovated recreation center Wednesday evening.
Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero was on hand for the official ribbon cutting at the Lonsdale Recreation Center.
A $500,000 expansion added nearly 2,500 square feet to the building. Most of the space is for a multi-purpose room that will host activities like exercise classes, community meetings and special events.
Other upgrades include new ADA accessible restrooms, a new office and a computer lab.
Local leaders say they're proud to see the changes.
"This is sort of a culmination of a lot of effort that has been put into this rec center. It's sort of a hub of the community-- this and the school, and to see it renovated, I think is a huge step forward for the whole community and a real source of pride," said Steve Ritter with the Heart of Lonsdale Neighborhood Association.
Last week, the city held a similar ribbon cutting for the Larry Cox Senior Center.
Both projects are part of the city's plan to update its rec centers that were built in the 1950s and '60s.