http://www.usc.salvationarmy.org/usc...9?openDocument
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, KROC CENTER PROJECT APPROVED FOR FINAL DEVELOPMENT PHASE
According to an official statement released by The Salvation Army’s Central Territorial Headquarters, which oversees the organization’s work in 11 Midwestern states and is located in Des Plaines, Ill., The Salvation Army in Chicago, Ill., has been approved for the final development phase to create a Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center (RJKCCC). Chicago is one of seven communities in the Midwest to be approved to move into this final phase which includes ensuring that the key goals of mission and ministry, financial stability, community collaboration and involvement, and design and construction of the centers are brought to fruition.
Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, Alderman Carrie Austin and Lt. Colonel David Grindle, who oversees The Salvation Army’s work in the Chicagoland area, were some of the people who participated in making the official announcement that the RJKCCC will be built on a currently vacant 33-acre parcel of land in the city’s West Pullman neighborhood. More than 250,000 people live within a three-mile radius of the site. The project represents the
largest single investment by a social service organization in the history of the City of Chicago.
The
220,000-square-foot Kroc Center will be a state-of-the-art ministry, community and social service facility in one of Chicago’s most underserved areas. It will provide thousands of people of all ages with new opportunities. It will become an anchor for the community and a beacon of hope.
“There has never been anything like it in Chicago,” says Lt. Colonel David Grindle. “It will redefine people’s notions of what a community center can be. The array of sports, educational, arts and supportive programs has never been offered under one roof. Both the programs and the building have been designed to enrich the mind, body and spirit, to provide hope, to transform lives.
The Chicago center was approved for $109.8 million, a portion of Joan Kroc’s, McDonalds’ Founder Ray Kroc widow, $1.5 billion-plus gift to The Salvation Army for the exclusive purpose of developing, constructing and operating several world-class recreational, educational and ministry centers. In order for the center to be built
The Salvation Army in Chicago must now raise an additional $50 million to complete the building and establish an endowment large enough to guarantee accessibility to the Kroc Center for every child and adult, today and for generations to come. This ensures the community’s involvement and support that Joan Kroc envisioned for each Kroc Center.
When completed, the Kroc Center will offer an array of activities and services for people of all ages that have never before been available in a single Chicago facility. Proposed programs and ministries include opportunities for
worship, educational classes, sports, arts and support programs. Recreational features will include a 5,000-seat indoor sports complex, an outdoor stadium, basketball and tennis courts, an aquatic center and a water park, a state of the art fitness center, a climbing wall, basketball courts and more. Outdoor recreational facilities will include a 2,000-seat sports stadium, a golf training center with driving range and putting greens, baseball diamonds, batting cages, tennis courts and an outdoor running track.
The Family Life and Education Center will offer an array of
classes and educational workshops for people of all ages, including job training, GED preparation, computer literacy, financial planning, parenting, nutrition and culinary arts.
The Kroc Center’s Academy of the Arts will include a
performing arts center; an outdoor amphitheater; a media center with recording video production studios; as well as studios for instrument, vocal and art instruction. The Family Life and Education Center will offer
after-school programs for children.
Murphy/Jahn’s innovative design for the Kroc Center is unlike anything seen before in this community. Jahn’s concept calls for a transparent structure to be built largely of
glass walls that will offer breathtaking views during the daytime and at night. It will be an
environmentally-friendly green building with energy efficient heating and cooling systems, topped by a green roof with solar collectors and skylights.
“When it opens, this facility will serve people of all ages—from children to seniors,” said Grindle. “And, everyone who supports it will have an unprecedented opportunity to transform lives and make a visible impact on a community, to make a real difference for generations to come.”