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Latin American Coalition purchases building with plans of creating Latino community center

The Latin American Coalition purchased the building where it's office is located and plans to turn it into a community center
Jasmin Herrera
/
La Noticia
The Latin American Coalition purchased the building where it's office is located and plans to turn it into a community center

The Latin American Coalition announced the purchase of the building where its office currently stands on Central Avenue.

The nonprofit organization that serves more than 10,000 Latino families announced during a news conference today that it purchased the building for around $1.2 million with financial support from PNC Bank.

Latin American Coalition President Jose Hernandez-Paris got emotional as he talked about the plans for the future.

“As an organization, we have achieved an incredible milestone. Radically changing our history and planting our flag as a community,” Hernandez-Paris said. “Ensuring that our children will have a place to call their own to connect to their history, to their culture to their ancestry.”

Hernandez-Paris says the organization is working with architects from the University of North Carolina Charlotte to plan out what the new center will look like.

“Now the real work begins,” Hernandez-Paris said. “Together we will convert this building and this land into the cultural and resource center all children deserve.”

A project the organization says will take around two years.

Oscar Saavedra, president of the Latin American Coalition Board of Directors said the process of purchasing the building has been in the works for the past 12 years.

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Maria Ramirez Uribe is a Report for America corps member covering issues involving race, equity and immigration for WFAE and La Noticia, an independent Spanish-language news organization based in Charlotte.