Capital Campaign News

Monday, January 25, 2010 - 15:36

(Kenosha News)
8/3/07
MATTHEW OLSON

A new community center is halfway to its $10 million funding goal thanks to the city.

Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian announced Thursday that the city has committed $5 million toward a new two-floor community center through the Boys and Girls Club of Kenosha. The proposed site would be on city-owned land near the northeast corner of 14th Avenue and 52nd Street.

Ron Stevens, president of the Boys of Girls Club of Kenosha, said the organization has been examining this opportunity for some time.
"The board has been looking at options to address our growing needs," Stevens said. "The programs have really been growing and it's creating a backup ... And the building at 52nd Street and 17th Avenue is getting older and is need of some work."

Stevens said the organization was "very, very excited" about this opportunity and it was necessary.

"Either we're going to have this facility and expanded programs or we'll be where we are now with additional struggles," Stevens said.

The city funds would come from the downtown/lakeside Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) District. That district, which is slated to absorb $2 million for infrastructure improvements to the Chrysler Engine Plant, would not extend the life span of the district, community development specialist Zohrab Khaligian said. Approvals for this funding are still needed from the City Council and the TIF Joint Review Board. The Boys and Girls Club current facilities at 17th Avenue and 52nd Street and 37th Avenue and 50th Street are expected to be turned over to the City Redevelopment Authority.

Boys and Girls Club officials are looking to raise an additional $5 million to $7 million through a capital funds campaign. Stevens said the building project has been estimated to cost between $8 million and $10 million and the organization would use the additional funds for its endowment fund. The capital campaign will likely expand once a feasibility study on this project is completed.

Boys and Girls Club of Kenosha Chief Executive Officer Wally Graffen said, if funding and approvals arrive on schedule, the facility could be ready in three or three-and-a-half years.

Graffen said the center would offer programs for everyone from children to seniors and include a teen center and a technology center. Stevens said he also expected that the gang prevention unit activities could be doubled. A large gymnasium and walking track is also part of the current plans along with a kitchen and multiple classrooms/meeting rooms.

Antaramian said these issues are important for the city.

"One of the areas we have not been able to do enough with is the teens and youth in the community and gang prevention," Antaramian said. "We want to tie up those loose ends ... And by putting those funds in there; those projects will see the light of day. It will be helpful in the long run and it's why the city has an interest in this."

The city has attempted to create large community centers in recent years without success at the Kenosha Auto Transport site and Bonnie Hame property. But Antaramian said the commitment of the Boys and Girls Club could make the difference this time.

"Before the city has been trying to drive this issue," Antaramian said. "This is more of a situation where an agency is willing to take the lead and they're coming forward with a plan of their own, with something stronger and better. We will see this be successful."

Stevens said the center would also be inclusive for other community organizations.

"The Spanish Center is excited to see if there is a way to work them in and a YMCA presence is another option," Stevens said. "And there could be a police presence with giving space to the neighborhood watch and enable the officers to meet kids ... We're willing to work with whoever is in the community."

Kenosha Police Lt. Ron Bartholomew said the police department was looking at its options, but there was potential in the center.

"It would give us an opportunity to work closer with the other community programs that are out there on a day-to-day basis," Bartholomew said.

The expanded facilities are expected to increase the current membership base of the Boys and Girls Club of Kenosha from 5,600 members to 7,000 and move their daily attendance from 1,100 people to near 1,500.
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Monday, January 25, 2010 - 15:34

(Kenosha News)
Nov. 20, 2007
by MATTHEW OLSON

The city will tweak the format, but not the amount, of an effort to assist the Boys and Girls Club's new facility.

On Monday, the City Council approved a project plan amendment for Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) District No. 4 that would send $5 million from that district to the Boys and Girls Club.

The Boys and Girls Club is planning a two-story community center near 14th Avenue and 52nd Street. That building is expected to cost about $10 million and club officials are hoping to raise about $5 to $7 million, in addition to the city funds, for that project.

Monday's amendment changed the funding plan for that money from a loan to a grant.

"We're doing this because we can get a lower interest rate," Community Development Specialist Zohrab Khaligian said. "It won't cost the city as much because the loan has a private borrower and a higher interest rate."

Khaligian said the money would carry about a 5.75 percent yearly interest rate as a grant, as opposed to an 8 percent yearly rate as a loan.

Alderman Kenneth Polzin Jr. said the Boys and Girls Club was a "wonderful organization," but questioned this funding.

"They're combining their two current sites (52nd Street/17th Avenue with 50th Street/37th Avenue) and going to one on the far east side of the city," Polzin said. "I think they're serving their constituency very well in the two neighborhoods they're in.

"And the way TIF money works, this is not free money. I don't think it really helps a neighborhood and this is a lot of money we really don't have."

Khaligian said there was still a sizable responsibility for the Boys and Girls Club.

"They're still doing their capital campaigns and it's not as if the city is building them that new facility," Khaligian said. "If people see the city has this commitment, it makes their capital campaign go better. It lets the community and the public know they need to come up with the rest."

The project plan amendment also added $1 million for curb and gutter repairs in the Columbus Park neighborhood, between 14th and 22nd avenues and 52nd and 55th streets.

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Monday, January 25, 2010 - 15:33

(Kenosha News Editorial)
Dec. 19, 2007
City's commitment to Boys and Girls Club should help youth programs

There are numerous ways that the city government can support recreation opportunities for children and teenagers. It can build athletic fields and swimming pools and run recreation programs on its own, or it can be a partner with private non-profit groups that have demonstrated expertise in running programs.

The city of Kenosha took a big step in the partnership direction Monday night, unanimously approving a development agreement with the Boys and Girls Club. The city will provide $5 million toward the construction of a new facility at 52nd Street and 14th Avenue. The Boys and Girls Club will conduct a capital campaign with hopes of raising another $5 million to $7 million.

The Boys and Girls Club currently operates two facilities, one at 17th Avenue and 52nd Street and one at 37th Avenue and 50th Street. The new facility will replace the old ones, which are expected to be turned over to the city's Redevelopment Authority.

When this project was first announced in August, Boys and Girls Club officials said the new facility would enable the organization to increase its membership from 5,600 to 7,000 and to increase daily visits from 1,100 to 1,500. According to the development agreement, the new building must be started no later than Oct. 1, 2009 and completed by Dec. 31, 2010.

The first basketball game at the new facility is still a long way off, but we expect the city's approval of the development agreement will provide a spark for the Boys and Girls Club's fund-raising, and the club has shown in the past that it can raise money.

In fact, as Mayor John Antaramian noted in August, the Boys and Girls Club's commitment will probably make this project work even though other large recreational ventures by the city have failed.

"This is more of a situation where an agency is willing to take the lead and they're coming forward with a plan of their own, with something stronger and better. We will see this be successful," Antaramian said.

We hope the mayor proves to be correct about that. The city needs to develop more youth recreation programs. Helping the Boys and Girls Club, an organization with a proven record of operating successful youth programs, looks like a good way to do it.


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Friday, January 22, 2010 - 00:48

Kenosha News
BY MATTHEW OLSON

Plans for a new community center for the Boys and Girls Club took a step forward on Tuesday.

The city’s Redevelopment Authority recommended approving a purchase, sale and development agreement between the city, the Redevelopment Authority and the Boys and Girls Club on Tuesday that would provide the club with 7.25 acres of land off of 14th Avenue and 52nd Street for a community center.

The center is expected to offer an indoor soccer field, a teen center, a youth center, an outpost for the Kenosha Police Department, programs with the Spanish Center and other non-profit organizations and spaces for other community groups to use the building while children are in school. Some outdoor athletic fields or playgrounds are also expected to be part of the property.

As part of the agreement, the Boys and Girls Club would turn over their two current facilities, 1715 52nd St. and the Madrigrano Center at 3712 50th St., to the city once the new facility opens.

Sharon Krewson, the city’s real estate agent, said there are no firm plans for the city’s use of those properties. All three properties would be exchanged for $1.

Wally Graffen, chief executive officer for the Boys and Girls Club, said the agreement was delayed while waiting for the Department of Natural Resources to approve use of this land. The DNR acted June 24.

The schedule calls for closing on the site by mid-October and for construction to begin next spring. The community center is expected to be completed by the end of June 2011.

The city pledged $5 million to the organization’s efforts in 2006. The funds, taken from a Tax Incremental Financing District, have already been given to the organization.

Graffen said the organization wants to raise $8 million more for the building, which is expected to double the number of people the Boys and Girls Club serves. About $2 million has already been raised, and Graffen said the donation campaign is just getting under way.

“We have truly been embraced by everyone we approached,” he said. “We feel this is something the community believes in.”

Kenosha Mayor Keith Bosman voiced strong support for the project. “This would be a significant upgrade to what is available,” he said. “The facility will include other community-based organizations in the programming, and it will be a magnet to bring the community more toward the downtown area.”

The agreement will require approval from the Kenosha Plan Commission on Sept. 10 and the Finance Committee and entire City Council on Sept. 21.
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