LANSING, Mich. -- The late Larry Trice Sr. had a dream to create a place where youth, seniors and families could gather in south Lansing. His dream became reality on March 16, nearly four years after his death.

According to the Lansing State Journal, the Pentecostal Outreach Church of God in Christ officially opened the Larry M. Trice Sr. Outreach Center, in memory of its longtime pastor. The center is open to the public.

"His vision was really to unite the community," project coordinator Robin Smith said of Trice, who served as pastor for 24 years.

Trice also envisioned a senior social center and a Christian school. Site plans have been created for those buildings, which the church hopes to build within five years if it can come up with the money, Smith said.

The $2.2 million, 21,000-square-foot outreach center offers free amenities including a computer lab, a gym with basketball hoops, a bookstore and a daycare center. The church now can offer services such as tutoring, music lessons and after-school programs.

It was paid for with donations, fund-raisers and a Go for the Gold pledge program, which names donors on gold, silver or bronze bricks in a yet-to-be-developed wall in the center's main corridor.

Lansing's black churches are growing in size -- and the center just adds to that, said Cathy Morgan, the church's public relations director.

"I think it's really great for the community," Morgan said. "We give our services out free. It's going to be a great aspect to the south side of Lansing."