Oshkosh Boys and Girls Club's $18M renovation is in its second phase. Here's what will be done this year
OSHKOSH – How is the Oshkosh community building its future leaders? By supporting its children, for starters.
Construction is underway at the Boys & Girls Club of Oshkosh, 501 E. Parkway Ave., to double the size of the club and help it support more youth daily.
Since 1970, the club has helped area children and teens with services that target academic, health and basic needs, as well as programs involving art, recreation, leadership and life skills. Now, the building is at capacity, with a waitlist of more than 100 kids, according to the club.
The club broke ground last October for a $18 million expansion, which was first announced in 2021.
The project is undergoing the second of five stages, and is the club's first major capital campaign building project in 18 years, according to Mark Lasky, campaign chair and club board member.
The club can accommodate 300 kids, which will extend to more than 450 when construction is complete. Over 1,800 members seek out club services each year, including summer and after-school programs at off-site locations such as elementary and middle schools.
"We're excited to be creating a space that will have a generational impact on our community by getting kids ready to be the future leaders in Oshkosh," the club's CEO Tracy Ogden said. "For over 50 years, this Boys & Girls Club has been a cornerstone for thousands of children and families, and with the expansion project, we've now secured the future for the next 50 years."
The first stage of the project is already complete: a classroom expansion in the Radford Center, which gathers children ages 6 to 9 and can now house twice as many children in that age range.
The adjacent building leased by UW-Oshkosh Head Start, an early education center for low-income and other eligible children, began construction in December to expand from four classrooms to six and shift the entrance to Monroe Street with a circle drive in front for added safety. Once it's finished, estimated to be in August, the club will also use this space for its youngest members during non-school hours.
A renovation to the Teen Center will modernize the building and add more programming space for children ages 10 to 12.
Older teens will have separate programming on the second floor of a brand-new building — which also broke ground and is expected to finish construction by February. That building will also house a new administrative wing and a community center with meeting areas.
For the community center, 23 organizations have already committed to provide services like workforce development, higher education classes, mental health services and character and leadership development, said Jessica Carr, the club's marketing and communications director. Some of the organizations include Forward Services, Fox Valley Technical College, Oshkosh Food Pantry and Rawhide Youth Services.
Finally, the club is adding a second gym as well as an outdoor multipurpose field and a playground courtyard. The field is expected to be ready by June, with the gym and playground to follow by the end of 2024.
During construction, the club is working with contractors CR Meyer to organize the schedule in a way that displaces as few members as possible, Carr said. So far, the kids have been moving to different parts of the building as needed, but some of them will need to move short-term at the end of the year. The club is working on finding a suitable space, Carr said.
Many community members and partners have rallied behind the club to secure much of the funding so far, Carr added, including sponsors such as Verve, Bergstrom Automotive, Community First Credit Union and packaging company Amcor.
Oshkosh City Council awarded $1.6 million to the project from the most recent round of American Rescue Plan Act grant funding, and U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin also secured a $1 million federal investment for the construction as part of the bipartisan 2023 federal funding bill and visited the site March 17, according to a news release from her office.
For more information, updates and a link to donate, visit bgcosh.org, under "Whatever it Takes to Build Great Futures Capital Campaign."
Contact Daphne Lemke at dlemke@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter at @daphlemke.
This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: These Boys & Girls Club of Oshkosh upgrades will be complete this year
