Construction is set to begin next month on a new Boys & Girls Club at 1012 Cleveland Ave. in Milo-Grogan.
Demolition of the building that has served as the club’s home base for 65 years got started earlier this week.
The Champion Companies, a local development and property management firm, is managing the permitting, design and engineering for the new building, while also taking the lead on fundraising.
About $10 million has been raised so far, including a lead gift of $2.5 million from Champion. A group of partners that includes the Nationwide Foundation, HCS Foundation, club alumni Jordan Miller and others, has set a goal of raising an additional $3 million to support the project.
“This project really is the epitome of what can happen when business and community leaders come together — even in the toughest of times,” Brian Yeager, president and CEO of The Champion Companies, said in a statement. “Undertaking this project during COVID-19 and its economic turmoil is a shining example of the ‘Columbus Way.’”
In addition to serving as a traditional club for neighborhood children, the new 24,160-square-foot building will also serve as the headquarters for Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Ohio.
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