Girls Inc. project on track, but funding still short

LYNN – The transformation of a former rundown school building into the new home of Girls Incorporated of Lynn is moving along on schedule, but the organization still needs to raise funds to pay off the project loans.Renovations to the former Shoe School at 50 High St. are nearly complete, and contractors have already begun the second phase of the project, which will bring a 14,000 square foot addition to the rear of the building.The addition will house a gymnasium along with conference space, upgrading the organization from its current aging offices at 88 Broad St. Their present home offers only a tiny gymnasium/auditorium and is nestled in a residential neighborhood, which makes expansion impossible.Girl’s Inc. purchased the 178-year-old High Street building in 2004 for $700,000. The city’s first high school had been sitting vacant for several years and was considered an eyesore on the outskirts of the Highlands neighborhood.Girls Inc. Executive Director Patricia Driscoll said the $10 million project has been paid for through loans and tax credit, but the organization is still about $2 million short of having enough funding to pay that money back.”We are thrilled (with the progress of the addition) but we still have that little bit – that seems like a big bit to us – that we have to come up with,” she said.Renovation of the old building took place both inside and out, where workers are applying a new coat of paint this week. The inside of the historic school has been completely gutted and done over with new floors and an interior space that has been entirely redefined.Driscoll described the renovation project as 90 percent complete and said the installation of bathroom fixtures such as sinks and toilets along with the new elevator system and other small projects should be completed soon.The foundation of the rear addition has been poured and Driscoll said the organization just recently secured a loan that would cover the cost of the addition until its completion.Girls Inc. is looking for both individual donors and local businesses that could help raise the additional $2 million. Driscoll said there are no events planned on top of Girls Inc.’s usual yearly fundraising, but did indicate that members would participate in some sort of community campaign in late winter or early spring.”We don’t have the details planned yet, but we will most likely do a community campaign, looking for both individuals and corporations,” she said. “Some local residents and businesses have already contributed to the cause and we hope that continues. We have made a big investment in Lynn that will benefit (businesses) in the long run.”If construction remains on schedule the project should be completed by April 2009, less than two years after the June 2007 groundbreaking.