Teen Central in Manheim is undergoing a facelift, and the renovations are meant to reflect the spirit of the nonprofit organization.

"One of our goals at Teen Central is to provide a safe and welcoming atmosphere for students to come and gather while being surrounded by the love of Christ," explained Janelle Heying, executive director. "Our staff, volunteers and board members work hard to create a warm and inviting youth center that radiates value and hope to the youth of our community. The overall goal of the external renovations is to have the outside of our building reflect that same care, love and warm invitation that students receive when they walk through our doors and into our programming."

The renovations began in May and are expected to wrap up in August. External and internal construction is currently underway at the building, located at 15 S. Wolf St.

"We are doing a complete facelift to the outside of our building," Heying shared. "We are having portions of the building stoned and stuccoed, replacing the majority of the exterior doors and a few windows, adding a new mural on a more visible external wall, adding a larger canopy over the doors on the side of our building, painting the remainder of the building to give it a clean and crisp look, adding some stone and texture to our entranceway steps to make them safer and more attractive, redoing some electrical and updating/adding new lights and fixtures to the outside of our building."

She noted that multiple local businesses and individuals are completing the work, including Weiler's Stone, HC Quality Doors, Stable Hollow Construction, Bill McFalls, LA Decks and Zeiset Electric. "Our board vice chair, Leon Huber, is also the head of our building committee and has done a fantastic job at arranging and managing this project," Heying said.

Outside the building, Katherine and Jason Horst of Horst Arts are creating a mural. "We have given Kate and Jason an inspiration board, and they will be working together to create the complete image and final product," Heying commented. "We haven't seen what they have come up with yet, but if you've ever seen any of their work, you know it will be amazing."

The interior of the building is also undergoing renovations. "The inside of our building is receiving some upgrades to our security system, along with relocating and adding some new outdoor cameras as well, with work by 3T Security, and we are having sound absorption panels added to our main gathering room and dining room (by) Stage Masters."

During the summer, Teen Central continues its regular programming for youths in grades five through 12 as well as monthly events and field trips through July. The organization will close for the month of August but will reopen when the new school year begins.

An open house is being planned for the fall to showcase the renovations. It will most likely be held at the same time as Teen Central's annual "Light the Night" event in October, Heying said.

For more information about Teen Central and its programming, visit the organization's Facebook or Instagram pages or check out https://teencentralmanheim.org.