A building that has served generations of Pensacola families officially began a new chapter Monday morning as city leaders, community members and longtime supporters gathered to celebrate the ribbon-cutting of the newly restored Alice S. Williams Center.
Once a beloved neighborhood library, the 73-year-old building has been transformed into an Early Head Start childcare center serving children from infancy through age two, creating more affordable childcare opportunities while helping working parents remain in the workforce.
For Mayor D.C. Reeves, the project represents much more than the opening of another city facility.
“As mayor, I have cut my share of ribbons and held my share of golden shovels, but using
Mayor D.C. Reeves, Alice S. Williams Ribbon Cutting, July 2026the ceremonial big scissors here this morning feels special because of what this building and its namesake represent,” Reeves said.
The restoration is one of the first major milestones of Mayor Reeves’ Mayor’s Childcare Access Program, an initiative launched to address one of Pensacola’s growing challenges: access to affordable, high-quality childcare.
Recognizing that childcare shortages affect not only families but also the local workforce and economy, the City brought together childcare providers, educators, nonprofits, business leaders and community organizations to increase childcare capacity and expand access throughout Pensacola.
Construction on the Alice S. Williams Center began in August 2025 after months of planning, transforming what was once a segregation era library into a modern childcare facility while preserving its rich history.
The project was made possible through a $500,000 Florida Department of State African American Cultural and Historical Grant and $300,000 from the Community Redevelopment Agency. The center will be operated by the Community Action Program Committee through its Early Head Start program.
The project is also part of a broader investment in Pensacola’s Westside. Under Mayor Reeves, the City has directed significant resources toward the area through projects including the Alice S. Williams Center, the Baptist Hospital Legacy Campus redevelopment, planning for the American Creosote Works site, the Hollice T. Williams Greenway and EPA Brownfields grants.
City Property Lease Manager Deana Stallworth at the Alice S. Williams Ribbon Cutting, July 2026The transformation of the former library was the result of years of collaboration.
City Property Lease Manager Deana Stallworth helped guide the restoration from concept to completion after first discussing the project’s potential with City Councilwoman Teniade Broughton and former Mayor Grover Robinson in 2021.
City Councilman Delarian Wiggins, whose district includes the Alice S. Williams Center, worked alongside the Mayor’s administration to help ensure the historic building would once again serve neighborhood families. Together with numerous community partners, their efforts transformed a long-vacant landmark into a place where children will once again learn, grow and thrive.
Reeves reflected on why preserving the building mattered just as much as repurposing it.
“This project is special because it is about honoring our past, but it’s not about looking only backward. It is about investing in our future.”
That history was evident throughout the morning as former patrons shared memories of the building’s previous life as a community library.
Among them was Mary Thomas, who attended the ribbon-cutting with her husband,
L to R: Mayor D.C. Reeves, Mary Thomas, Isaac Thomas, Councilwoman Teniade Broughton at the Alice S. Williams Ribbon Cutting, July 2026.Isaac. For Thomas, walking back through the doors was personal. Her mother, Jacqueline Hester, served as the library’s final librarian before the building eventually became a daycare decades ago.
“It was the library where everybody went,” Thomas recalled. “Everybody came here. This was the after-school program, and this is where we learned how to love books.”
One of the books Thomas remembers reading and one that remains her favorite today is Little Women, but the memories extend far beyond the books themselves.
She and her brother spent afternoons doing homework inside the library while neighborhood children gathered there almost daily. On Saturdays, her mother would walk through the nearby neighborhood inviting children to Story Time.
“She would go and gather up kids to bring them to Story Time on Saturdays,” Thomas said. “Everybody knew Miss Jackie. That’s the story of this history.”
The building continued to shape her family’s story after it transitioned into a childcare center.
Her oldest son, Lawrence Durant, was among the first children enrolled when the daycare opened approximately 40 years ago.
Today, Durant has built a remarkable career. An MIT graduate, he is now an educator and performs with the Grammy nominated bluegrass and hip hop group Gangstagrass, which previously performed in Pensacola during a Juneteenth celebration.
Standing in the newly renovated facility, Thomas could not help but see generations of opportunity connected within the same walls.
Mayor Reeves echoed that sentiment as he reflected on the woman whose name the building proudly carries.
“Today, we formally open these doors again, welcoming the future of our community into this building in the spirit of Alice S. Williams, an educator who fully understood the power of education to change the trajectory of a child’s life.”
He concluded with a message that captured the significance of the morning.
“Pensacola’s future will be built within these walls. Thank you for coming together to help make this most important construction project a reality.”
For many in attendance, the ribbon cutting was not simply about opening a childcare center. It was about preserving a place where children have learned, grown, and dreamed for generations while creating new opportunities for the children and families who will walk through its doors starting now.
