St. Charles Boys and Girls Club Breaks Ground on New Club Facility

Construction has finally begun on a 32,000 square foot facility that will house the __ and the __ Aquatic Center.

On Thursday, city officials and supporters of the Boys and Girls Club gathered with golden shovels to "officially" break ground on the project that has been in the works for several years.

Gary Steinhoff, executive director of the club, said construction is expected to take 12 to 14 months. He said they hoped to have the building under roof by late spring.

The group has anticipated breaking ground on the project several times during the past few years, but raising the $7 million needed for the project took longer than anticipated. The group still needs to raise another $1.3 million and has considered offering naming rights for the facility.

"With the economy it was just a lot slower going," Steinhoff said. "It was important to show the community that this is not a dream. We felt there were many people in the community who were skeptical it would happen."

Lindenwood University is contributing financially to project, which will have an Olympic-sized, pool, a gym and classroom space. Steinhoff declined to say how much the University had contributed.

Lindenwood's swim team will use the Olympic-sized facility as it's home pool. Steinhoff said the team currently works out in the Boys and Girls Club pool, so the two organizations knew they could work well together.

The building will have the look and feel of a school, a move that reflects the direction the national club is heading toward focusing on education and character-building programs.

"We will always have recreation but our real thrust is in our education and leadership programs," he said.

The club provides reading tutoring services as well as computer lab and leadership. After school, children participate in a power-hour to get their homework completed.

The current building doesn't function very well as a space for studying or learning, said Assistant Executive Karen Kirk, who said the new facility would be a big improvement.

"It's been a long time coming," she said.

The club currently serves about 1,000 kids in a year. Steinhoff said he expects the number to grow to 1,500 with the new facility.

"The thing that excites me is that we're going to be able to provide these programs to more kids," Gary Melchior, president of the Board of Directors for the St. Charles County Boys and Girls Club.