Boys & Girls Clubs breaks ground for new facility
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Ohio will break ground Wednesday on a new $13.5-million facility in Columbus’ Milo-grogan neighborhood, which will replace the current 65-year-old building.
With the support of donors such as The Champion Companies, Nationwide Foundation, Columbus Foundation, the Wolfe family, the city of Columbus, and others, the project has received more than $10 million dollars in funding, or nearly 80% of the $13.5 million needed for construction of the 24,160-squarefoot structure.
Brian Yeager, project co-chair and CEO of The Champion Companies, said its been a difficult year for local organizations to garner support due to the coronavirus pandemic, but several community partners managed to come together.
“Its been a giant collaboration and I’m very proud of the effort,” he said. “I think it’s a really bright spot in a tough year.”
Yeager’s Champion Companies donated a lead gift of $2.5 million while managing the project’s permitting, designing, engineering and fundraising efforts.
Yeager said the groundbreaking on Wednesday will serve as a catalyst for change in the local community, emphasizing the continued support of youthcentered programs that foster academic success and provide opportunities for advancement.
The building, located at 1012 Cleveland Ave. between East 4th and Gibbard avenues, will combine two existing clubs and move the local Boys & Girls
Clubs’ administrative headquarters into the new space. The new facility will allow for the expansion of members and increased programming, and will emit a sense of hope and purpose in the new space, the clubs’ CEO Doug Wolf said.
“While we’re building this great club, what it represents is that our priority is to provide the best opportunities for our young people,” he said.
Wolf said the goal is to raise the total $13.5 million project cost by the end of 2021 and to complete the building’s construction by early 2022. The two-story facility will include a full court gymnasium, career development room, outdoor garden, theater, administrative offices and other notable amenities.
Other Boys & Girls clubs across the area will ensure Milo-grogan residents don’t miss out on opportunities and programs during the building process. The organization will continue to support local families at the RISE Boys & Girls Club, roughly a mile from the former Cleveland Avenue site.
The groundbreaking ceremony at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday will be open to the community through a Facebook Live broadcast on the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Ohio’s Facebook page.
ehopkins@dispatch.com
“While we’re building this great club, what it represents is that our priority is to provide the best opportunities for our young people.” Doug Wolf CEO for Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Ohio