The Trenton Times published the following article on January 29, 2014. To read the full article, click here.
Lawrence zoning board approves Boys & Girls Club’s use of Spruce Street site
By Nicole Mulvaney/The Times of Trenton
on January 29, 2014 at 10:52 PM, updated January 30, 2014 at 12:34 AMLAWRENCE — The adults and children who jammed the zoning board meeting erupted into applause tonight after the board unanimously approved the Boys and Girls Club of Mercer County’s application to transform a long-vacant building on Spruce Street into a community center to expand its services.
The organization, headquartered on Centre Street in Trenton, offers afterschool programs to 2,300 students in kindergarten through eighth grade in the city annually, officials said. But it is looking to expand its reach beyond the city, as well as respond to community needs for increased programs, according to David Anderson, the club’s executive director. The operation will create more than 15 full-time professional positions and about 100 part-time jobs, Anderson said, as well as internships for about 150 high school students as part of the organization’s college and technical school preparatory programs.
“Every time I used to look at Spruce Street, it was a sore sight to see,” board member Sam Pangaldi said. “It’s a long time coming. We need something like this in Lawrence that gets kids off the street and gives them a place to go.”
The club first went before the zoning board about the project on Dec. 18, with the hearing continuing earlier this month as club representatives, including traffic and landscape architects, presented details about the proposed work on the building.