Boys & Girls Club to Get Gym With Grant

By Matthew Higbee, Connecticut Post, Bridgeport

Jul. 9–SHELTON — The Boys & Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley has received a $100,000 state grant to help convert the former Pine-Willis School building in Ansonia into a second Valley clubhouse.

The money will be used to build a new gymnasium.

“We’re very appreciative of the state for this award and everything that we’ve gotten from the state,” said Joe Andreana, chairman of the Ansonia Project Development Committee. Bursting at the seams of its 30,000-square-foot building in Shelton, the Boys & Girls Club has been working for several years on a $4.2 million project to renovate the old technical high school in Ansonia. In February 2005, the project was launched with $1 million approved by the State Bond Commission. Since then, grants from the federal government, local foundations and private donors have raised nearly $3 million, Andreana said. The project is being done in stages, so that after a $2.3 million first phase is finished, part of the main building and the gymnasium can be used for programs, Andreana said.

The building committee is reviewing contractor bids and hopes to begin construction in September, with a target opening date of September 2008, Andreana said. Meanwhile, the organization has applied for more state and federal grants. The latest grant is from the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority, which helps eligible nonprofit organizations gain access to tax-exempt debt financing.

In announcing the grant, Gov. M. Jodi Rell in a statement praised the Boys & Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley, which serves more than 3,100 boys and girls in Shelton, Ansonia, Seymour and Derby.

“This is a place that changes lives by instilling a sense of self-worth and positive values that enable area boys and girls to realize their dreams,” Rell said. “It is truly a positive place for our young people to learn and grow, and we are very pleased to be able to help in the building of the new gym.”

Matthew Higbee, Naugatuck Valley bureau chief, can be reached at 736-5440.

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