Boys & Girls Club gets new home at City Hall Posted by Kimberly Jacobson | Jul 11, 2012 | 791 views

The Anacortes Boys & Girls Club has a new home — at least temporarily. It will move into the basement of City Hall next month.

Angela Freeberg, Anacortes unit director, said the goal is for the space to be a transition location as the club figures out its next move.

“We’re looking into what our long-term plan is,” she said.

The city is pleased to help the club during its transition.

“Boys and Girls Club provides a valuable service to families in our community and the city is pleased that we are able to step up and accommodate their interim needs,” Mayor Dean Maxwell said in a press release.

The club is currently housed at the Washington National Guard building, 2219 M Ave. As the Guard ramps up its presence in Anacortes, it needed more space in the building. With less space available, club leaders opted to find a new home.

This fall, the Guard expects to have about 150 citizen soldiers stationed here. The increase from roughly 30 people now comes as the Guard works with constrained resources.

Boys & Girls Clubs of Skagit County and Guard leaders say they have had a good relationship over the past 12 years.

The base rent at City Hall will be $1 per year, according to the city. The city and club are working out other financial details like utilities and phone service. The club currently pays less than $3 a square foot for the roughly 8,000-square foot armory space — about $24,000 a year.

Freeberg said the new space is comparable to what the club has now — it won’t be using all the roughly 12,000 square feet of the City Hall basement. They’re able to convert the old kitchen back into a kitchen and have a couple rooms for quiet spaces and a larger multi-purpose room. They’re also using the full-size gym.

The club’s summer program ends Aug. 17. Its goal is to reopen in City Hall on Sept. 10.

Club leaders are looking for help with basement upgrades and moving. Needs include volunteers to repair and patch walls, put up ceiling tiles in a multi-purpose room, spray texture in a hallway, put on doors, carpet some areas, wax floors, replace kitchen counter tops and add kitchen cabinets. It also needs appliances like an oven, sink and dishwasher.

If you’d like to help, call Freeberg at 588-9045.