Boys & Girls Clubs of the Corridor breaks ground on new home

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Corridor held a groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday for their new Busse Unit, located at the corner of Washington Ave and 16th Street SE in Cedar Rapids. The building will be the organization’s first stand-alone home since their previous home was destroyed in the 2008 flood.

The two-story Busse Unit will house a variety of resources for children. The first floor will house a gymnasium, cafeteria, game room, education center, and STEM lab, offering opportunities for children to develop skills in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.

On the second level, a Teen Center, teaching kitchen, art room, and music room with a DJ booth will cater to the interests of middle and high school students. The space will serve around 300 children, doubling the current number of people being served.

Executive Director John Tursi say this new home will be their first stand along club since losing their original home to the 2008 flood. “It has been a long journey. We’ve waited a long time and now we’re going to be able to provide for kids the just best club we possibly could, and this won’t just be a club that’s going to serve our kids. We want it to be a community center. We want the community to understand that they are part of this and we want them to be a part of it,” said Tursi.

The project is being supported with a capitol campaign. Tursi says so far, they’ve raised nine million dollars. You can find more information about the campaign here.

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