MICHAEL PISTELLA Grace Community Center’s Chris Jackson stands inside the 12,000-square-foot event facility the church organization is offering to the public for rental. For more information, call 574-7161 or visit: egracenter.org. Grace Community Center is located 4151 Hancock Bridge Parkway.

Those looking to put on major events now have a new place to consider.

The Grace Community Center on Hancock Bridge Parkway in North Fort Myers has opened its facilities for public functions.

The center boasts 12,000 square feet of rental space, offering people the opportunity to host events without having to cross the river to the Harborside Event Center or travel east of Interstate 75 to the Lee Civic Center.

“We have one of the largest halls in Lee County,” said Chris Jackson, Grace Community Center spokesperson. “Our facility is brand new, that means everything is sparkly and pretty.”

The new space will act as a fund-raising arm of Grace Community Church.

Opened in 2007, the church purchased the old Winn-Dixie store on Hancock Bridge with the aim of reaching out to the surrounding area.

Programs offered by Grace Community Center include a food bank, literacy and GED classes, free haircuts, youth activities, medical services and a thrift store, among others.

“It’s a more commercial piece (of our efforts),” Jackson said. “It helps to fund the ministries.”

According to Jackson, the center features a state-of-the-art sound system, three large wall-mounted video screens and projection systems.

It already hosted Ida S. Baker High School’s prom and is looking to become the home for North Fort Myers High School’s dances.

“We’re getting locked in on that market right now,” he said of school-related events. “But we can host fund-raising dinners, dances, wedding receptions … just a whole bunch of different activities.”

Grace Community Center is in the process of reaching out the local business community, especially in North Fort Myers and Cape Coral. The facility recently became a member of the Chamber of Commerce of Cape Coral.

Over the next two days the center is holding an open house. People are welcome to stop by from 5-7 p.m. today for a look around the facility.

For more information, call 574-7161 or visit: egracenter.org.

Grace Community Center is located at 4151 Hancock Bridge Parkway.