Greenidge said about 1,000 young people live in the area. Before, they used smaller, temporary youth centers located in area schools.

Marshall said the Youth Action Committee is already planning events like a basketball and volleyball tournament and camping trips.

Kareem Marshall, age 11, said he planned to use the facility to play basketball and to do homework.

Greenidge said he hopes the youth center will become "a focal point of the community for the youth."

"When I was growing up, there was nowhere to go," Greenidge said.

While the building's grand opening was Saturday, programs won't begin for another two weeks, after more furniture arrives and finishing touches are put on the building.

Members of Carpenters' Local 40 handed out leaflets at the event, calling it "bad news" that the youth center was built by Tocci Building Corp, a non-union contractor that the union said "undermines standards for working people in the area.