Beloit council approves Boys and Girls Club plan for new facility

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Austin Montgomery/Beloit Daily News | September 22, 2020

BELOIT—The plan to bring a new Stateline Boys and Girls Club facility to downtown Beloit is one step closer to reality after the Beloit City Council took action Monday to approve the project’s master land use plan.

The council unanimously approved a plan to combine 202 Maple Ave., 1500 Shore Drive and a northern portion of 1459 Sixth St. into a 4.4 acre parcel of land while the city will retain 1.9 acres of adjacent land as open space by the creek that runs near the site.

The proposed facility is 23,700 square feet to include athletic fields, on-site parking and driveways, according to the application submitted with the master land use plan.

The focus will be for the new facility to be more centrally located along the Fourth Street corridor nearer community partners, in particular the Beloit Memorial High School’s student population. The Stateline Boys and Girls Club facility in South Beloit is at 1161 Dorr Road.

New offerings would include expanded STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) activities, increased teen programming and increased capacity to reach more youth. Career exploration and cooking classes also may be offered.

The clubs currently have 2,000 total members.

A capital campaign is underway to raise funds for the project with a goal of $5.5 million. To-date, the organization has raised $87,825, according to the Boys and Girls Club website.