UW-Madison celebrated community ties Tuesday with the opening of a permanent office and research center dedicated to neighborhood outreach.

Located in Villager Mall on Park Street, the center will be the base of operations for outreach programs in the South Park Street neighborhood. John Merrill, associate dean of the School of Human Ecology, spoke about the importance of the building, which he said has been in works for over a year.

“You can learn a lot by being involved in the community,” he said. “It’s good to finally have something concrete.”

The university teamed up with the South Metropolitan Planning Council to form the partnership. The office, which is staffed by UW employees, will serve as a classroom and meeting place.

This is UW’s first center of this type, and Chancellor Wiley stressed UW’s commitment to the community at the center’s open house Tuesday afternoon.

“The South Madison area of the city has been extremely important to the university,” he said. “We need a lot more presence out here and this is a step towards establishing that.”

The program is one of several located in the neighborhood, including the Neighborhood Law Project, the Community Scholars Program in the college of Agricultural and Life Sciences and the Madison Community Health Center. In February, March and April, expert volunteers will prepare and submit income tax returns for low-income residents.

The office was created by the chancellor’s office, the Morgridge Center and the School of Human Ecology and is funded by the Evjue Foundation and the Morgridge Center.

“We’re viewing this as both a window to the university and a door to the university,” Wiley said. “There will be more services and more linkages from UW to the community.”