RALEIGH, N.C. — It's been more than a year in the making, but the John Chavis Memorial Park is set to open. 

The grand opening of the $18 million park will be June 12 at 10:30 a.m.

After 21 months of construction, the City of Raleigh is ready to open the 41,600-square foot community center, splash pad, playground and carousel to the community.

Project Manager, Luke Wallenbeck, said in the next ten days, furniture, speakers and televisions will be delivered to the center to be ready for the ribbon cutting.

"I can't wait to see children on the playground, and some of the community members who have been a part of this for ten years to come and see what all their work has ended up as," Wallenbeck said.

The 29-acre park started in 1937 as a recreation center for Black people in the area during segregation. According to the City of Raleigh, community members have been working on this upgrade since 1971. Eventually, funding came in 2014 with an updated plan.

The John Chavis Memorial Park Director, Grady Bussey, is excited to open the doors.

"It's just truly a testament of what community engagement looks like. This is a product of people asking, and the city actually delivering," Bussey said.

The indoor, two-story community center includes six meeting rooms, a fitness room, locker rooms, a warming kitchen and a second-floor balcony overlooking downtown Raleigh.

The original carousel house has been renovated as a meeting space with a warming kitchen and indoor and outdoor bathrooms.