KENDALL - After years of effort and planning, a new center to serve the social, health and educational needs of the Mount Baker Foothills will open by Oct. 1.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony and public tour is Thursday, Sept. 22, for the East Whatcom Regional Resource Center at 8251 Kendall Road.
Located in Columbia Valley, the center is meant to serve a fast-growing part of the county - nearly 7,000 people live in the Foothills, according to a community leader - where residents are geographically isolated, have a higher rate of poverty and lack a community center.
"You can imagine the possibility of a building like this," said Carole MacDonald, a community leader and the owner of the Inn at Mount Baker.
"I want to say how grateful we are," she added. "It's very exciting."
At 13,033 square feet, the building is the first phase of a project that will sit on about 8.5 acres donated by Marble Falls LLC, the developer of Balfour Village.
The center has been a project some seven years in the making, and has involved a large number of people - from the Legislature to the County Council to the community.
The project so far costs about $4.8 million, with $4.1 million of that for construction of the building.
The center will be built in phases. The land has space for additional buildings, as well as athletic fields.
The Opportunity Council will manage the center, which will have a Head Start program as an anchor tenant. The nonprofit council provides a host of services that include child care, early childhood education, energy assistance and transitional housing.
The Opportunity Council will talk to other nonprofit agencies and service providers in the next couple of months about locating in the building, according to Dave Finet, the council's executive director.
In addition to providing the council's programs, other services that are either planned or possible include business incubation, employment readiness classes, and GED completion.
"The big thing is that folks will be able to access a lot of services that they would normally access by having to come to Bellingham," Finet said. "We're looking forward to working with the community to meet community needs."
Money for the project comes from $2.72 million in state and federal dollars. Another $2.13 million comes from a state sales tax rebate the county receives that can be used to build public facilities.
IF YOU GO
What: Ribbon-cutting ceremony for the East Whatcom Regional Resource Center. Tours of the 13,033-square-foot building also will be provided.
Where: 8251 Kendall Road, near Mount Baker Highway.
When: 11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 22.
Details: co.whatcom.wa.us.
Services: People with ideas for services through the center should contact Dave Finet, executive director of Opportunity Council, at dave_finet@oppco.org.
