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State budget dedicates $2 million to High Point neighborhood center
Neighborhood House house is proud to announce that the Washington State Legislature has earmarked $2 million for the construction of an 18,500-square foot education, employment and cultural center in the redeveloped High Point community in West Seattle.
The $10 million Neighborhood House High Point Neighborhood Center, scheduled for completion in April 2009, will serve the 4,000 children, youth and adults living in High Point and the surrounding West Seattle community. It will house Head Start classes, tutoring programs, employment services, community activities and more.
“We are so grateful to Senator Erik Poulsen and Representatives Eileen Cody and Joe McDermott for leading the effort to secure funding for this center of hope and opportunity in West Seattle,” said Martha Kongsgaard, president of the Kongsgaard-Goldman Foundation and co-chair of the Heart of High Point Capital Campaign.
Neighborhood House Executive Director Mark Okazaki echoed Ms. Kongsgaard’s praise for the lawmakers, adding that the state funding “is much more than an investment in a construction project; it is an investment in helping people create a place and purpose in their community.”
“The state’s commitment also recognizes the unique environmental impact this state-of-the art center will make in the community,” Okazaki said. The High Point Neighborhood Center is being constructed as a LEED-certified “green” building meeting the highest standards of environmental design and sustainability.
Senator Poulsen has championed legislation to make Washington the first state to require schools, universities and other public structures be built to meet new energy efficiencies, water conservation and environmental standards. He is particularly pleased that Neighborhood House’s High Point Neighborhood Center will be built to these standards.
The $2 million in state funds – along with funding already committed from Seattle Housing Authority, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Microsoft Corporation and other private and public sources – brings the project to within about $2.5 million of its goal. Construction is expected to begin in spring 2008.
The High Point Neighborhood Center will house services for families featuring multilingual programs and activities focused on enhancing family capacity and promoting self-reliance. The envisioned “magnet” for the Neighborhood Center will be the educational and recreational activities designed for the 1,300 youth who will live in the newly redeveloped community.
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