Boys & Girls Clubs Work on Raising $250,000 to Open Teen Center in Sammamish

Work crews are busy renovating the old Sammamish Library at 228th Avenue Northeast and Inglewood Hill Road with the goal of turning it into the city's Teen Center.

But another element of the project supported by the  and the Boys & Girls Clubs of King County Redmond/Sammamish is underway: Raising $250,000 to support the center's operations so it can open this fall.  

The youth organization on Tuesday sent an email note to its supporters, saying that foundations, corporations and individuals have given a total of $1 million to improve the interior space of the old library.

Organizers have given the facility the official name of the Sammamish EX3 Teen & Recreation Center. As part of the Boys & Girls Clubs' campaign to raise awareness and dollars, the group is opening the center's doors - even as renovation goes on - each Wednesday, starting Aug. 3, from 9 to 10 a.m. for public tours.

The Teen Center is located at 825 228th Ave. NE. Renovation began last month and people who take a tour are asked to wear closed-toe shoes.

In an email note to the community, Jane Ronngren, executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of King County Redmond/Sammamish said that naming rights are still available.

"Providing a place where teens are able to explore new challenges, experience new opportunities, and get excited about their skills, interests and futures is critical to our community," she said in her email, which was dated Monday.

The topic of the Teen Center specifically surfaced at last month's public and , which had an overall cost estimate of $64 million.

Some City Councilmembers and residents voiced concern about that price and asked about the Teen Center's role in giving youth recreation space. Elected officials have not yet said as a formal group what their next steps will be with the community aquatic center project.

The Boys & Girls Clubs have said that the main Teen Center building would cover 10,000 square feet. Included in that space would be a performance stage, multi-purpose area, room for teens to study, a teaching kitchen, place to play games and a technology lab.

In February, the group said it hoped to build a 7,000-square-foot building, which would house a high school-sized gym and climbing wall. That structure is likely to be part of a second building phase.

At that time, the organization had a fundraising goal of $3 million for the Teen Center.

The group estimates that there are about 6,000 teenagers in the Sammamish area. A third of the city's population of 45,780 people is under the age of 18, the .

In June, at the city's annual festival for teenagers, to hear .

Editor's note: To learn more about the Teen Center, visit the Boys & Girls Club of King County Redmond/Sammamish website, which has a specific page for donations.