A closed Springfield Boys & Girls Clubs center will be converted into the Citi Teen Center, possibly to open in January, to anchor the corner of Liberty and 10th streets.
Conversion of the Laurence F. Lee Boys & Girls Club “will transform the Lee facility into the coolest (and safest) place for local teenagers, aged 13 to 18, to learn, grow and engage in healthy activities,” the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida told our Daily Record news partner.
According to the club, the investment to create The Springfield Project is about $2.5 million.
The Citi financial services giant donated $500,000 as the naming-rights sponsor.
Darby Stubblefield, Boys & Girls Clubs vice president of development, said Publix Super Markets Charities donated $100,000, the Lucy Gooding Charitable Foundation gave $800,000, and Lowes donated $50,000. An anonymous donor pledged $250,000.
An $880,000 Community Development Block Grant through the city from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development tipped the project into development, she said. That was approved in August.
The block grant funds are available for reimbursement for construction expenses and must be expended by September, she said.
Stubblefield cited support from Citi, Publix, the Gooding Foundation, the grant, an anonymous donor and individuals for launching the project.
Additional renderings of the project can be seen on the Daily Record's website.
