Boys and Girls Club construction underway

MOSES LAKE - The new Boys and Girls Club is scheduled to be open in time for the 2014-15 school year.

The exterior walls are up and almost all the roof trusses have been installed, Executive Director Brant Mayo said. Construction should be completed by late August, Mayo said.

The club, located next to Park Orchard Elementary School, 417 North Paxson Dr., is 10,700 square feet, about twice the size of the downtown club, Mayo said. The Boys and Girls Club is partnering with the school district, so kids at the club will have access to the playground equipment, gym, computer labs and play fields next to the school, he said.

The new clubhouse will have a learning center for its homework program, an arts and craft room, a small kitchen, a game room (activity center) and a teen center targeted at middle school students, he said. There's also a room that can be rented to community groups, Mayo said.

The new location provides outdoor space for kids, Mayo said, as well as more activities in the club and the school facilities. The bigger space will allow the club to help more kids and families, he said. "To be there for the families a little more," he said.

The Boys and Girls Club will be able to offer more programs and services than it can in its current space, he said.

Club administrators have a partnership with the school district that allows the use of two portables at North Elementary School for an after school program, Mayo said, and that program will continue. The new facility will replace the current clubhouse on Third Avenue, he said.

That building will be rented or sold, he said.

The construction is being paid for by a state grant and local donations, he said. The goal for the project was $2.9 million; about $2.7 million has been raised. Club administrators are still raising money, he said, but construction will be completed regardless.