The Boys and Girls Club of Boston on Saturday broke ground on its new teen center in Mattapan.
The 7,800-square-foot Boys and Girls Club Mattapan Teen Center will replace the vacant former Mattapan Library on Hazleton Street and offer youth development programs for teens focused on leadership, academic success, performing arts and healthy lifestyles. The center is scheduled to open in fall 2014 and will serve approximately 250 teens annually, including 125 teens daily during evening programming.
"The Boys and Girls Club Mattapan Teen Center will be a vibrant addition and an invaluable resource for teens in this neighborhood," Boston Mayor Martin Walsh, who attended the groundbreaking, said in a statement. "This is an exciting day for Mattapan and for the entire city. I want to thank the Boys & Girls Club of Boston and the Smith family for their vision and commitment to this neighborhood. Improving our neighborhoods requires a lot of hard work and compromise, and this is a great example of what can happen when everyone works together."
The $2.5 million revitalization includes a computer lab, an education area with meeting spaces and a music studio. The majority of the renovation work will take place inside the building, and green improvements will be incorporated to help conserve energy and reduce operating costs. All of the exterior windows will be replaced with new efficient weather-tight windows, and system upgrades, including a new boiler, will increase efficiency. A programmable thermostat system will be installed and the interior lighting will be motion-sensor activated to save electricity when rooms are not being used. There will be no major changes to the outside of the building and existing exterior and interior details will be restored.
Originally constructed in 1931, the future teen center served as the neighborhood library 2009. The single-story structure, which includes high ceilings and ornate interior trimming, sits on an approximately 13,700-square-foot parcel. The Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston were tentatively designated as the developer of the property through the Department of Neighborhood Development Request for Proposals process in August of 2013.
The revitalization of the building was made possible in part by a $2.5 million grant from the Richard and Susan Smith Foundation. Dana and Robert Smith are donating an additional $2.5 million to cover the first five years of operation.
