Buffalo’s African American Cultural Center is celebrating a restoration that’s decades in the making.

Members marked the end of phase one in an ongoing renovation project at the the Masten Ave. site.

Crew began working in March to make $1 million worth of improvements, including restoring the dance floor, renovating the lobby, adding new accessible bathrooms and installing new HVAC and plumbing systems.

“The African American Cultural Center is a pillar in this community,” Leah Angel Daniel, African American Cultural Center executive director, said. “People have come here since the 1950s. We need to build community, so that’s what we wanted to bring back to this area.”

Phase two of the project includes building a new 250 person theatre as the center approaches its 78th year.

Phase three of the renovations will include an extension of the building.

The center plans to offer a variety of programs, including summer sessions, and activities for seniors and youth.