Planners of Mobile’s new Africatown Welcome Center continue to zero in on a design, with hopes of breaking ground before year’s end – and an online survey gives the public a chance to weigh in on elements of the design.

The city and Mott MacDonald, the lead company on the design contract, held the third in a series of public meetings on the building Monday night. When built, it will provide an entry point for tourists interested in the story of Africatown, an audience that has grown with confirmation that the ruins of the slave ship Clotilda have been found and the release of the documentary “Descendant,” amid other book and film projects.

Those in attendance at the Robert Hope Community Center on Monday were among the first to see renderings of the structure.

“It’s still not a finished product, by any means, but it’s come a long way,” said Project Architect Andrew Marasca. He estimated that the design is about 40% complete.

At a previous meeting, planners had presented three preliminary layouts titled “Monument,” “Town” and “Connection.” Marasca said that the “Monument” concept had gotten the most votes and had become the basis for further planning. However, he said, popular features from the other designs had been incorporated.

In feedback since the previous meeting, the community had expressed desire for water features, gathering spaces, a natural garden and sculpture garden and educational additions. Functionally, respondents said they wanted a facility useful to the community outside regular business hours, one suitable for classes, historical celebrations and other events, with restroom facilities accessible from outside.

The building shown at Monday’s meeting was roughly rectangular, with a high glass front and sheltered exterior space facing a terraced area and open lawn. The building would face at an angle the cemetery that is one of Africatown’s major landmarks; the view of the lawn and cemetery would be unobstructed by parking, which would be behind the building.

The main interior feature of the building is a large open lobby with seating in small clusters. Other features include a main reception desk and some office space.

In the early renderings shown, the lobby had a sterile look akin to a hotel or office building lobby. Marasca said the final character of the space would come from community-driven features such as a monument wall, art and artifact displays and murals.

“There’s a story to be told in Africatown,” said Marasca. “And it’s not my story to tell.” The design is meant to give the community a canvas for that, he said.

“The details and the history will come. Our contract is to design the building,” he said. “What we’re doing is, we’re building the house. The city and the community are going to make the home.”

Among those on hand was Karlos Finley, president of the Dora Franklin Finley African-American Heritage Trail. As someone experienced with leading tours of Africatown and historically significant sites in Mobile, he’s well acquainted with the needs of the visitors and the community that the new facility will serve. He said it appears the planning process is on track.

“So far I like everything that I see,” Finley said. “But the most important thing about a welcome center is the information. The welcome center can be a conduit of sorts, of all the other opportunities that are within the community: The Heritage House, the Dora Franklin Finley African-American Heritage Trail, the other touring companies that are here, Mobile County Training School.”

Finley said he likes the idea that the welcome center can serve the community in other ways, such as a place for nonprofits to hold meetings. He said it’ll also give visitors a go-to place to spend time as they wait for other things, such as tours of the new Heritage House museum.

“The success of the Heritage House has been so overwhelming that they’re finding it difficult to do walk-ups,” Finley said. He likes the idea that in the not-to-distant future, someone who has a little time to kill before a Heritage House tour can find a welcoming and informative place to wait at the welcome center.

That day might not be very far away.

“I would say we’re probably at 40% design right now,” said Marasca. “We’ll get further feedback and comments at this meeting. We’ll tweak a few things based on what they say and our hope is that within the next few weeks we’ll be close to 100% and be able to submit it to the city for permitting and for bidding.”

“Hopefully we’ll have shovels have in the ground by the end of the year, if all goes well,” he said. “That’s the plan, at least.”

The online survey that opened Tuesday presents options on exterior textures and finishes and interior wall coverings.

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