Kroc center awarded to CdA
Mothers wept, swimmers cheered and a roomful of community organizers finally exhaled as they learned Monday that Coeur d’Alene will get a $65 million Salvation Army Kroc Community Center after all.
Salvation Army Lt. Col. Harold Brodin didn’t even finish the first sentence of his announcement.
“Coeur d’Alene has been selected to be … , ” the divisional commander began, only to be interrupted by a crescendo of applause and ovations.
That was all the standing-room crowd gathered in the Coeur d’Alene City Hall council chambers needed to hear.
For nearly two years, civic organizers have lobbied for the city to be chosen from among 19 applicants for a share of more than $1.5 billion from the legacy of Mc-Donald’s restaurant heiress Joan Kroc.
On Monday, the city was selected as one of six sites to build and endow centers throughout the Salvation Army’s 13-state Western region.
“We knew we were the smallest one on the list and we had the biggest mountain to climb,” said a teary Marcy Horner, 55, of Coeur d’Alene, whose two children grew up waiting for a pool. “It’s been 20 years of starts and stops.”
The two-story, 109,000-square-foot Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center will include a public swimming center, cardio-fitness center, jogging track, climbing wall, 300-seat chapel and other amenities. It is expected to employ as many as 27 full-time and 120 part-time workers and be used by nearly 700 people a day.
The city’s first public pool is expected to transform competitive swimming in North Idaho, said Bob Wood, swim coach of Lake City High School and the Coeur d’Alene Area Swim Team. Wood’s son, Jake, 16, a Lake City sophomore, hopes the Kroc Center will be finished by the time he’s a senior.
“It’s awesome,” he said.
Construction of the center is expected to begin in about a year and take 14 to 16 months. City leaders must generate $5 million in donations before the work can begin. About $1.7 million has been raised, officials said. The Kroc Foundation will provide about $30 million for construction and about $30 million for an endowment to operate it.
Coeur d’Alene Mayor Sandi Bloem, who has spearheaded the project, was showered with hugs and handshakes and given a standing ovation. As organizers responded to a question about what nudged Coeur d’Alene ahead of other applicants, one supporter offered a popular suggestion:
“Mayor Bloem was the answer,” said Steve Griffitts, president of the Coeur d’Alene Area Economic Development Corp., to loud applause.
Coeur d’Alene’s proposal was well-researched and well-presented, said Salvation Army Maj. John Chamness, who has shepherded the process. “We did our homework,” he said. “I think we did everything right.”
One key has been the willingness of Coeur d’Alene officials to cooperate with the Christian-based nonprofit agency. The center will be built on about 12 acres of once-public property at 2903 N. Ramsey Road. The land, valued at about $1 million, will be transferred to the Salvation Army through a land-swap agreement involving Lake City Development Corp., which is the city’s urban renewal agency, and the Coeur d’Alene Parks Foundation, an independent nonprofit organization.
That arrangement avoids church-state conflicts and allows the city essentially to trade the public land for about 10 acres of foundation-owned land of similar value off Prairie Avenue, officials have said.
In addition, LCDC recently agreed to spend about $500,000 in public funds to help reconfigure the land where the Kroc Center will be built.
Chamness said he would return to Coeur d’Alene next week to begin specific discussions about construction. He is one of at least two Salvation Army leaders who have expressed interest in running the Coeur d’Alene Kroc Center and expanding the organization’s ministry in North Idaho. Capt. John Van Cleef, an executive with the Portland Salvation Army, confirmed Monday that he’s also interested in the post.
A decision is expected to be announced May 12, Chamness said.