Construction Continues on 45^th St. Building

Excellent progress is being made on the renovation of the Club’s original building on 45^th St. and Stone Way in the heart of the Wallingford business district.  In addition to the teen center and gamesroom, the new Club will house a new gym, state-of-the-art computer lab, learning center, and multi-purpose rooms.

Dust and building debris along 45^th Street near Stone Way mark the beginning of a major building renovation that will bring Wallingford Boys & Girls Club back home to 1310 N 45^th St. in Seattle.  The Wallingford Boys & Girls Club building has been vacant, only the gym is rented out periodically, for the past two years and it hasn’t housed a Boys & Girls Club for nearly eight years. The Club has continued to serve kids from a temporary site at 503 N. 50^th.

Community members, Club alumni and staff along with dedicated volunteers have raised $1.7 million of the $2 million required to restore and improve the building enabling it to once again serve area youth.  “This Club is a vital part of our community,” said Suzie Burke, owner of Fremont Dock Company and Chairperson of the Capital Campaign. “It’s been in a temporary location for too long, it’s time for it to come home.”

Fremont Dock Company is a major contributor to the Capital Campaign, having donated the adjacent building to the east of the Club, the former Turay guitar studio, to the Boys & Girls Club.  The Turay Building recently was razed and the space will be an outdoor courtyard and small play area.

 When renovations are complete on July 7th, 2007, the building will house:

o        a teen center 

o        a technology center

o        an art studio

o        a teaching kitchen

o        a study room

o        multi-purpose space

o        a large gamesroom

o        a courtyard

o        a gym

In addition, the building will receive an elevator and other ADA accommodations; seismic retrofitting, plumbing, electrical and HVAC system upgrades; new flooring and paint throughout; the addition of windows to bring in natural light; and reconfigurations of interior spaces.

Bill Tsoukalas, Club alum and former Wallingford Club Director, spearheaded fundraising efforts among alumni.  "The community built the club for us when we were growing up in Wallingford, and now it's our turn as alums to take care of future generations of kids by moving the club back home to 45th Street," said Tsoukalas. “Kids and the community need the Club as much now as we did 50 years ago,” he added.

The Wallingford branch of the Boys & Girls Club opened in 1947 and the building on 45^th was built in 1952, with the gym added in 1960.

The Club currently has approximately 1000 members, a number that’s expected to increase with the additional facilities and operating hours the new building will provide.

Other major donors to the capital campaign include Dick’s Drive-In, Dunn Lumber, Safeco, Crow Roofing & Sheet Metal Inc., The Framers Council, Seattle Foundation, and The Boeing Company.

To find out more, get involved or make a donation, please contact Nita Smith, Executive Director, Boys & Girls Clubs of King County Wallingford Branch at 206-547-7261 or nsmith@positiveplace.org

April 2007