Boys and Girls Club gym closer to construction

‘‘What I think we need to do a better job is to find someone in the county who can buy into the fact that the gym really needs to be built in the county. A corporate sponsor to put their name on it,” Edwards said.

The group raised about $1 million in 2007, and had initially pledged to start construction by early this year at the latest.

A development manager for the project will be hired in the next two weeks, Edwards said.

‘‘We would like to have all the money up front before we start, before we put the shovel in the ground,” Edwards said. ‘‘We’re closer now than ever before.”

The 11,000-square-foot club, located just off Route 355 and Middlebrook Road, serves about 165 youngsters from Germantown, Gaithersburg and Damascus, said Branch Director Phil McManus. There currently is no gym. The youth engage in activities that promote character and leadership, health and life skills, and the arts and education among other things.

When the club, which operated out of Capt. James E. Daly Elementary School for two years, opened in 2002, the organizers knew they needed to build a gym.

‘‘We are very, very optimistic about how many more children we’ll be able to serve,” McManus said, estimating that the club could reach 100 to 125 more children with room for activities such as basketball and volleyball.

‘‘The membership and parent group has been very positive. They’re wondering when it’s going to happen, also, but that hasn’t stopped people from coming through the door,” he said. ‘‘They’re saying they still want to sign up; they still want their kids to be involved.”