The facility will have life-improving activities, programs, amenities and learning and workforce development opportunities, said Crystal Allen, CEO and president of the Boys & Girls Club of Dayton.
“Our community deserves a 21st century Boys & Girls Club space where our young people can come and feel safe and be nurtured and learn and grow and evolve and develop and be prepared to be productive citizens in our community,” she said.
History, future
Boys & Girls Club of Dayton was founded in 1930 and has operated out of the West Stewart Street building since 1968.
The roughly 38,000-square-foot building shows signs of age, and Allen says its look, feel, layout and amenities are outdated. The building has wasted space — mainly an indoor pool that was closed down 15 to 20 years ago.
Boys & Girls Club of Dayton has an $18 million fundraising goal. A good share of the funding will be used to knock down and replace the current building. Some of the money will be put toward building an endowment to ensure the long-term sustainability of the organization.
The 37,500-square-foot facility will have a full-sized gym, sensory room, art room, dance studio, teen center, esports arena, classrooms and administrative offices.
The one-story building also will have a 7,500-square-foot workforce development center where teens can learn new skills in focus areas such as STEM, robotics, health sciences, digital transformation, hospitality management, traditional trades and college and military readiness.
“The new facility will be a transformative improvement over our current one,” said Devon Valencia, chair of the Boys & Girls Club of Dayton’s board of directors. “Our current building has served us well for decades, but it comes with significant limitations.”
The existing West Stewart Street building underwent some renovations and repairs in recent years, including HVAC and restroom upgrades.
But the nonprofit’s leadership say the current facility would be very expensive to renovate on a larger scale, and cosmetic changes alone were not going to cut it. They wanted to start anew, with a very different and modern space.
Construction should begin shortly after demolition and could take about 14 months. Demolition work could be completed by the end of summer.
Serving more young people
Allen said the nonprofit expects to double the number of youth and teens it serves when the new facility opens.
Last year, the Boys & Girls Club of Dayton had more than 550 registered members and served an additional 600 young people and teens.
“We will probably average around 250 to 300 members per day in that (new) space,” she said. “We’ll probably enroll 1,000 registered members.”
Dayton only has one Boys & Girls Club, which some people say is uncommon for a city of its size. There used to be a Boys & Girls Club in East Dayton, but it closed down more than 20 years ago.
Cincinnati and Covington have five freestanding Clubs, plus a couple of shared-space Clubs. Cleveland, Columbus and Toledo also have multiple Club locations.
Club leaders said quality of space matters, and the new facility will give young people the tools they need to thrive and succeed. They said many teens want to work, learn how to drive and participate in gaming and esports (competitive video games) and game development and design.
Valencia, the board chair, said the Club is a place where youth and teens get a supportive environment where they can access life-enriching programs and caring mentors.
She said the Club tries to make young people feel valued and encouraged to explore their interests and hone their talents.
“A new Boys & Girls Club facility is a necessary and critical investment for youth and teens in Dayton,” she said. “A new facility ensures that the Club can serve more youth and teens and strengthens the city of Dayton by investing in our greatest asset — people.”
To help finance the project, the Boys & Girls Club of Dayton was awarded $1.4 million federal funding that U.S. Rep. Mike Turner (R-Dayton) helped secure. The project also received several million dollars in state funds for the life readiness and workforce development components.
Boys & Girls Club will operate out of a temporary space while the new facility is constructed. The temporary location has not yet been announced.
Boys & Girls Club does not charge for membership, and the organization serves young people from all over, though most members live in West Dayton.
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