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Mayor Ras J. Baraka addresses attendees at the grand opening of the Training, Recreation, Education Center in the South Ward.

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NEWARK -- An $11 million facility outfitted with educational and recreational space opened in the South Ward Wednesday morning, with Mayor Ras J. Baraka on hand to christen the site's creation, a release from the city said.

Accompanied by South Ward Councilman John Sharpe James and other city officials, Baraka cut the ceremonial ribbon and opened the Training, Recreation, and Education Center.

Just east of the Evergreen Cemetery, on the first block of Ludlow Street, in the ward's Dayton neighborhood, the 24,000-square-foot center includes classrooms for educational and job training programs, conference rooms and study cubicles, the release said. The facility also has a gym, a weight and cardio-equipment room, and fitness classrooms.

"Economic development and prosperity for our residents are critical priorities for my administration," Baraka said. "Creating this Training, Recreation, and Education Center will help us accomplish these goals, and also provide needed public space for South Ward residents, particularly in the Seth Boyden Complex."

The center, said Maria Maio-Messano, director of the Newark U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development field office, is a needed addition to the neighborhood, and was made possible by $5 million in funding from HUD, which covered a little less than half of the construction costs.

"Area residents will be able to use the facility to improve their quality of life, by acquiring skills to move them on the road to self-sufficiency," Maio-Messano said.

"Residents of the South Ward will greatly benefit from the community resource," James said.

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