LYNN — The finishing touches on the $7 million renovation of the Boys & Girls Club of Lynn could not come at a more perfect time, according to executive director Brian Theirrien.
That’s because the completion of the first phase of the club’s $15 million renovation project will coincide with the beginning of the new school year, which will look a lot different for families.
Since the city’s school district has opted to start the school year with remote learning, it is anticipated that many working parents will be in need of child care and additional support during the day.
The Boys & Girls Club of Lynn, located on North Common Street, has been working with the school district to help fill that gap.
Theirrien said the extensive renovations to the building’s 15,000-square-foot clubhouse, which encompasses the first phase of the multi-year project, will enable the organization to provide that additional support this fall.
“If the schools continue with remote learning, we will be open full days,” said Theirrien. “We will become a full-day child care center that will align with the school department to give the kids access. The kids will have plenty of support to do their schooling from the Boys & Girls Club.”
Theirrien said his team is working to determine how many kids can be served through that full-day child care model, because social distancing restrictions have to be taken into consideration.
“We can only do what the city allows us to do, and the state, so we’re going from there,” said Theirrien. “We’re planning to have 100-150 kids in our school time programming, and then when we get back to the normal way of doing things (of) becoming an after-school program, we’re looking to get to the 500 kids that we would normally serve after school.”
Theirrien credited the Boys & Girls Club staff and its Board of Directors for preparing the building to meet the city’s anticipated child care needs this school year and the needs of its members as well, children and teens who attend the organization’s afterschool programs.
Some of those renovations have included expanding the building’s child care capacity; installing locker rooms and cubbies; updating the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics) center; and ramping up technology and Internet access, Theirrien said.
Other updates have included additional bathrooms and upgrades to the building’s fitness spaces, such as those for yoga and dance.
“We’re fortunate,” he said. “It’s almost perfect timing. As the completion of this project is coming in the next couple of weeks, the need for the city is coming (up as well). Everyone is aware of childcare needs and support for the children during school time.”
Although the timing will allow the Boys & Girls Club to take a new collaborative approach for the beginning of the school year, Theirrien said there was a significant need for the renovations in general.
It has been more than 25 years since there has been any major renovation work done to the building, he said.
The extensive Phase 1 renovations, at a hefty price tag of about $7 million, were made possible through three significant donations from the Gerondelis Foundation in Lynn, Old Neighborhood Foods, which is owned by the Demakes family, and the Creighton Family Foundation.
The Boys & Girls Club also benefited from the state’s New Markets Tax Credit Program, Theirrien said.
Construction on the first phase of the project is expected to be completed by Sept. 1 and the club will reopen to members on Sept. 14. Work on the second part of the three-phase project is expected to begin in 2022.
Theirrien said there were multiple reasons for the renovations, but the overarching goal was to provide a better experience for their members.
“We really wanted to focus on the teens as well as expand our licensed child care programs and make sure we provide the best support for our kids,” he said. “(It’s been) entirely renovated and restructured to fit with the needs of this generation for sure.”
