Plans for big youth center advance

By RICHARD KOE

SALEM – It’s not a done deal yet, but Oregon’s capital city is closer to a new Salvation Army youth center which may total $70 million paid from the estate of philanthropist Joan Kroc.

The city is one of eight finalists in the Western states for the center which would focus on arts, education, physical fitness, and child development. Backers are optimistic that Salem will remain on the list, with a final decision expected in the next 18 months or so.

Other finalists are Long Beach, San Francisco, and Concord in California, Phoenix, Ariz.; Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; Aurora, Colo.; and Kapolei, Hawaii.
Brian Saunders, who oversees the Salvation Army’s mid-Willamette Valley operations with his wife Leticia, is very confident in Salem and the surrounding community in their support of the agency, despite the stiff competition.

Salvation Army officials said the holdup is figuring out if the Kroc estate has enough money to finance eight youth centers. When the widow of Ray Korc, founder of McDonald’s Corp., died in October 2003, she left a fortune to establish community centers through the country, but not all of the estate’s assets have been liquidated.

Saunders said it is possible that only five or six of the eight regional finalists would be funded since a center could run between $60 and $70 million. Half of the money would go for construction and the rest to underwrite operations.
Some 19 communities in 13 Western states applied for community centers since the fall of 2004. There was one plan to convert the Memorial Coliseum in Portland into an amateur recreation center. Several local groups, including the YMCA and the Salem-Keizer School District, have joined in support of a Salem center.

Salem supporters will still seek money from Oregon businesses and foundations to help run the center. Mayor Janet Taylor told the Statesman-Journal newspaper that the city would have to undertake a capital campaign to raise as much as $5 million in matching funds in a long-term commitment to the center’s success.

Preliminary newspaper reports in June announced that Salem received a grant to build the community center, and city officials, who had expected an announcement in early July, were celebrating early.

Gerry Frank, chairman of the Kroc Initiative for Oregon, a group that made Oregon’s bid, said $35 million would be spent to build a center containing a swimming pool, gym, and rooms for arts, child care, family enrichment, and education.

If Salem is awarded the center, it would be located in a city-owned 10.6-acre parcel of land near Salem Parkway and Salem Industrial Drive N.E.
The city would sell the site to the Salvation Army for $1 million, then plow the proceeds into a 22-acre nature park on adjacent property.