Bengal News West Reporters
The 60-year-old Butler-Mitchell
Clubhouse has seen better days with outdated classrooms, no air conditioning
and ceilings falling down.
The clubhouse at 370
Massachusetts Ave. will undergo a $650,000 reconstruction project. Phase one
will start in July with the gymnasium and in October phase two will close the
doors on the Boys and Girls Club until January 2015.
“The footprint of the building
will not change,” said Tim Brennan, the chief
development officer of the Boys and Girls Club. “The building will be gutted to
create more space inside for our children.”
Tim Brennan, on project specifics:
The Butler-Mitchell Clubhouse was built in the early 1950s and is the second oldest Boys and Girls Club in the area. The clubhouse needed renovations, or it was in danger of being closed, said Brennan.
The gymnasium’s paint is
chipping and the ceiling is falling down. New York State determined that
children under the age of 12 should not be in the gym until it was fixed, said
Brennan.
In October, when phase two
begins the remaining building will be gutted.
“Plumbing will be addressed first,” said Jody Briggs-Garcia the resource development coordinator of the Boys and Girls Club. “We are limited now to the number of children we can serve based on the amount of urinals and sinks we have, but after the renovation we will be able to increase our average daily attendance.”
“Plumbing will be addressed first,” said Jody Briggs-Garcia the resource development coordinator of the Boys and Girls Club. “We are limited now to the number of children we can serve based on the amount of urinals and sinks we have, but after the renovation we will be able to increase our average daily attendance.”
Currently, Butler-Mitchell
serves 76 children on a daily basis and 300 children a year, but after the
renovation the club expects to serve 120 children a day and over 500 children a
year.
The construction company to
work on the renovation for the clubhouse has not been decided yet, but bidding
will begin shortly, Briggs-Garcia said.
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| New windows and larger access will be added to the entrance |
The Boys and Girls Club has
raised $440,000 so far, $150,000 coming from a state grant, which will be used
to begin renovations on the gym. Phase two of the project will begin in the
fall when the club hopes to raise the remaining $210,000 Briggs-Garcia said.
During phase two, the whole
club will be shut down, but the Boys and Girls Club will provide transportation
for children of the Butler-Mitchell Clubhouse to some of the other clubhouses
in the area.
“We would end up working with
our other clubs where we could actually transport our kids that come here to
another clubhouse,” Briggs-Garcia said.
There are several clubhouses in
the area, the closest being the John F. Beecher Clubhouse on Tenth Street. The
John F. Beecher Clubhouse is a possible relocation for the children of
Butler-Mitchell, but where the children end up could vary.
“It’s going to depend on what
we’re able to coordinate from this end. It’s going to depend on how many kids
are registered and where their parents want to send the children. Some parents
might say ‘my kid will take a break for a little while.’ For our working
parents, and we have a lot of them, they might say ‘transport them somewhere
else because we need a program,’” said Briggs-Garcia.
After phase two is completed
the children of the clubhouse will have air conditioning for the summer months,
and a new reception area when they enter the building, said Briggs-Garcia.The kitchen also will be modernized
and become a learning kitchen where the meals and snacks will be served daily,
and nutrition classes will be offered to the children.
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| Classrooms will be outfitted with new technology |
The children will also have
more modernized classroom facilities. The current classroom at the clubhouse is
outdated and after the renovations, new computers and tablets will be added to
the club.
“We want to teach the kids how
to use tablets and smart boards,” Briggs-Garcia said. “We want the kids to be
on the cutting edge, when it comes to going to school or getting a job.”
Even the children at Butler-Mitchell will be put to work as part of this construction project. One of the most noticeable sights when you enter the Butler-Mitchell Clubhouse is the artwork. There are paintings on the walls and ceiling of the building. Butler-Mitchell was built in the early 1950s, so it has seen several changes to the artwork. The renovations will give the children currently enrolled a chance to add their own artwork. “These ceiling tiles are from the early 2000s, the children who did these are now adults. If we replace them it would be a ceiling tile project for the kids who come here right now, and that really gives the kids ownership of the building,” Briggs-Garcia said. - Peter Murphy and Bill Schutt
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