Pakistani center opening attracts a crowd

U.S. Rep. Al Green, D-District 9, helped present the association with a Congressional Certificate of Recognition, "marking the first Pakistani community center in the nation."

Green said the community center should be a "unity center and bring the Pakistani community together as a healing process."

Ghulam Bombaywala, president of the association, said the center is the first full-fledged Pakistani community center in the United States and it marks a new concept in community centers.

The center is a former H-E-B store that the association purchased for $1.3 million in August 2005. The property is valued at $3 million, treasurer Ismail Mumza said.

Three years ago, the association sold land it owned in Sugar Land and placed an earnest money deposit on land on Kirkwood at Bissonet.

The estimated cost of building a community center was $5 million. At that time, the association's board, under the leadership of Bombaywala, hit upon the idea of buying the H-E-B store instead of constructing a new building.

After purchasing the store, Manzoor Memon, trustee and chairman of the construction committee, said bids were received for $1.2 million to remodel it.

He found a contractor who agreed to do the job at cost, plus an agreed profit of $100,000. The remodeling was completed for $600,000.

Manzoor Memon, trustee and chairman of the construction committee, said the center has 37,000 square feet, of which 17,000 square feet at the front of the facility has been converted into seven retail stores.

Memon said the 16,000-square-foot banquet hall can accommodate 1,080 people. It will be fully furnished and equipped with audio systems and a sound room.

Memon said the community center will receive rent of about $27,000 monthly from the retail shops and if the banquet hall is leased just one a week, the community center will be a "totally self-sustaining project."

"We have set a high standard for the other Pakistani communities in the country," Bombaywala said.

The center also includes a conference room for the PAGH, a library, sports room for youth, men's and women's clubs and prayer halls, and the PAGH office.

"We are caretakers. The center is for the entire community," Bombaywala said. "The center should be used to make a positive difference in others' lives. This is just the beginning. We have greater responsibilities ahead."

The association's civic responsibilities began well before the center was completed.

Shortly after the building was purchased and before any renovation, the association used the space to provide relief supplies to victims of hurricanes Katrina and Rita and to collect donations for victims of an earthquake in Pakistan, he said.

Memon said a medical clinic will open in about a month. It will be free for walk-in patients during weekends. Medical services will be provided at a subsidized cost on weekdays.

Green said he and colleagues in Congress are working on "temporary protective status for the Pakistanis here, until Pakistan is ready to receive them," referring to undocumented immigrants

Said Jackson-Lee, "We are about to enter the challenge of immigration reform. We are going to get the comprehensive immigration reform."

When she asked how many of those in the audience wanted immigration reform, nearly the entire audience raised its hands.