For the first time in nearly six months, the McCreary Community Center is open to the public.

City officials and McCreary Community Center staff opened the doors to the newly remodeled facility with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday evening. Crews recently put a cap on phase one of the renovation project that transformed the theater into an updated 24-hour workout facility. Every other part of the building also received a makeover to a more modern aesthetic. 

Perry Deputy Parks and Recreation Director Becky Halling tells Raccoon Valley Radio that she’s looking forward to welcoming in guests, “It’s been exciting. We’ve kind of all been looking forward to normalcy, whatever that is, and what we’ll find, but we’re all kind of excited to get open. John (Anderson) and I talked; it’ll be great to see our patrons again, to see community members that we see every day. The last six months, it’s just been us 10 people, and we’re kind of sick of seeing us, 10 people. It’ll be great to see patrons again and get back into more programming, whatever that looks like.”

Thursday also marks the first-day patrons are allowed to use the center. Hours return to regular times of 6 a.m. – 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. – 9 p.m. on Saturday, and 1 p.m. – 6 p.m. on Sunday. Patrons will still be able to use their membership cards, even if they were issued before the closure.