Youth Groups Get New Spaces in Oakland County

DETROIT-The juggle of public-owned space and non-profit space is continuing in south Oakland County. Royal Oak is set to open a new $4.3-million facility that will be used in the late afternoon and evening by the Boys and Girls Club of South Oakland County.

The 36,000-sf building on Lincoln Street will also offer recreational space to senior citizens before 3 p.m. After that, the children and teens will take over.

The club sold property and a 50-year-old facility to the city last year, and the city began the renovation process. Opening day is Sept. 3.

The club will lease the property, which includes two large gymnasiums and technology rooms, from Royal Oak for $40,000 a year.

“We’re extremely excited about the new facility, it will allow us to reach many more children in the south Oakland area,” says Brett Tillander, executive director of the Royal Oak club.

He tells GlobeSt.com he wants to boost membership to more than 1,600 families.

According to the national organization, a new Boys and Girls Club opens every week somewhere in the country, Tillander adds.

The Royal Oak club had been operating out of two buildings before the renovation, the Lincoln Street location and the former Churchill Junior High School building on Girard.Now, the club is only going to occupy space at Lincoln Street. The Royal Oak Neighborhood Schools Board of Education is moving into Churchill.

Beaumont Hospital and the board have entered into a lease agreement for the district’s board of education office building on Normandy. Beaumont will lease the building for additional office space and classrooms for staff and community education, for about $150,000 per year.

Also gearing up for a new facility is the Boys and Girls Club of Troy. The club is buying a 3-acre parcel of land for $3 million to build a new 17,000-sf club building on John R. Road near Wattles Road.

The city recently gave the Troy club zoning a 3.4-acre site for new retail or condominium development, allowing the club to sell the property for $1 million.

Boys & Girls Clubs of America comprises a national network of more than 3,000 neighborhood-based facilities annually serving some 3.3 million young people, primarily from disadvantaged circumstances. Known as “The Positive Place for Kids,” clubs provide guidance-oriented programs on a daily basis for children 6 to 18 years old, conducted by a full-time professional staff.