SILVERHILL, Alabama — Over a year and a half after the Little Bohemian Hall was damaged when a tornado ripped through the area, the Town of Silverhill opened the doors to its new Community Center on Wednesday, Nov. 14.

"I never dreamed we would have something like this and I have lived here all my life," said Mayor Tim Wilson during the open house/ribbon cutting ceremony held Wednesday. "It is our hope that this facility will be enjoyed for years to come."

After bids to build the structure came in at over $400,000, the town decided to use municipal employees to complete the project. Wilson estimated the using town labor, the structure cost about $230,000 to complete.

The Town received $167,000 from the insurance settlement for the former structure. Depreciation costs have been estimated at $75,000 in addition funding and could be more once the structure is completed, he said.

It is not yet known how much the town will have to borrow on the project, but Wilson said he believed the structure itself will be paid for and any funds that will have to be borrowed will probably go for paving the parking lot around the structure.

The 3,000 square foot structure includes a 1,600 square foot meeting room, plus storage space, a fully-equipped kitchen, restrooms and a covered back deck area where the town plans to build picnic tables.

Meanwhile, plans are continuing to rebuild the Little Bohemian Hall, which received extensive damage during a tornado that ripped through the area in March of 2011.

In April, just over a year later, the structure was moved and set on its new foundation, approximately 200 feet from where the more than 90-year-old structure sat for the better part of three decades.

In May of that year, the Silverhill Town Council voted to proceed with plans to demolish the structure and build a new Community Center in the southwest corner of the park.

Following the vote, several concerned residents came forward asking to save the structure, and another three months of discussions later, in August of last year, plans proceeded to save the Little Hall and move it to a new location.

Another six months of discussions followed, trying to decide what to do with the structure, where it could be moved and how to move it. Then, on Feb. 13, a proposal was presented to the Council at a specially called meeting to move the structure closer to the corner of Third Avenue and Fourth Street near the town’s water tower.

After receiving no objection from the Havel family, who donated the land for the park and approved the usage of the land when the structure was moved in the 1970s, and confirming with the town’s insurance company that, as long as they give the building a new address, it can stay at the park, the Town Council voted at its regular meeting March 5 to move the structure to its new home at the corner of Third Avenue and Fourth Street, mere feet from where the structure has been for more than 30 years.

Three weeks later, after receiving approval from the town’s Planning Commission and following the proper procedures to facilitate the move, employees with the Town of Silverhill and Fauver’s Movers out of Semmes worked together to right, turn and move the structure from facing east toward Second Street to facing north toward Fourth Avenue.

Records submitted by the Little Hall Committee to the Town Council show that the Committee currently has assets totaling $16,670.59. Members of the Committee who were present at Monday’s meeting said they are currently looking for a contractor to do some of the repairs.