The skyline between Rec Park and Oak Mound Cemetery is taking on a bold new look as a complete remodel of the historic Boys & Girls Club continues, working toward a mid-2027 opening.
The $16 million rebuild marks the most significant project of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Sonoma-Marin since the completion of the Roseland Flagship Clubhouse in 2023. The Healdsburg Club, a founding member of the regional system, was created in 1946 as the Barbieri Boxing Club. Currently some 20 clubs comprise the two-county system, Healdsburg being the oldest.
Modernizing a club that has served the community for nearly 80 years and its Piper Street clubhouse built in the 1960s is no easy task. The project aims to balance state-of-the-art educational spaces with historical preservation, specifically retaining the original gymnasium structure. The gym, 5,430 square feet, will be joined by new construcion to the northern property line, another 10,152 square feet including patios.
Progressing rapidly and with the roof installation currently underway, construction should be completed in March of next year. The plan is to put it to use in April when the regional Boys & Girls Clubs hold their annual gala there, with a view westward toward the sunset.
By next June it should be open for business, not only to provide a place for school-age children to go after (or before) school, but as a clubhouse to encourage learning, physical skills and teamwork, and eventually more important “life skills” as the young members grow up.
We toured the new clubhouse on a Friday afternoon, when the work crews from Holly Construction had gone home for the weekend. Jennifer Weiss, the chief executive officer of the clubs, pointed out new features being installed as well as the construction techniques in the 60-year-old gym’s ceiling, the oldest part of the building being retained.
History’s Role
History, perhaps oddly, provides a large part of the Boys & Girls Clubs appeal. The architectural elements of the gymnasium will be continued throughout the building, with open ceiling supports and other “Craftsman” features.
“I’ve been in youth development for 33 years now,” Weiss said. “I started with Boys & Girls Clubs straight out of college [at UC Berkeley in business], and I was lucky enough my first job was at Boys & Girls Clubs in San Francisco.”
She’s been with the local clubs for 18 years, but that contact is modest compared to that of some of the local supporters. “We’ve been here a long time, and so many of our business owners actually grew up at the Boys Club, or the Boys & Girls Club,” Weiss continued. “So we’ve been talking to them about how each one of them wants to support it.” It’s an easier ask of someone who has good memories of their club experience, as many in Healdsburg do.
The new design prioritizes “view corridors” and the safety they bring, eliminating hallways to ensure constant supervision. The new clubhouse will feature an instructional kitchen with three teaching bays where local chefs will teach culinary skills to students ranging from transitional kindergarten through high school. In addition it will contain a dance studio; STEM and arts labs designed as “messy rooms” with washable walls for mixed-media projects; and a Teen Center, where the older kids can explore workplace skills and find a bit more independence than the younger club members might.
“Maybe we’ll start a little entrepreneurial business where the kids can learn to make the coffee,” Weiss said, “and maybe have a little cart where they sell drinks so they can learn basic business and buy their own coffee affordably.” (Decaf of course, she added).
Back to Basics
To the relief of former employees and Healdsburg children, about 200 of whom patiently await the new clubhouse opening, the new building will include a full heating and cooling HVAC system, to avoid the extremes of the past. Unlike its predecessor, there will be no shortage of natural light here—the windows are large and every room features an outside view.
The remodel will take full advantage of the location, on top of a hill behind Rec Park. “This will be an amazing place to watch the high school football games, to watch the Prime Packers games,” Weiss said. “Especially for teen nights so the teenagers can come and feel like they’ve got some independence and have some fun while the games are going on.”
Everybody seems to be looking forward to the new Healdsburg Clubhouse. But it’s not an actuality quite yet: If the $16 million fundraising campaign is a mile on a running track (given a kickstart of $1.5 million from John Jordan at The John Jordan Foundation), they’re three laps down, one to go. If it’s a day, it’s 6pm. If it’s a football game, they’re entering the final quarter. In other words, a crucial $4 million is still being pursued—and one of the primary fundraising events was dealt an unexpected blow this year.
For years the clubs’ primary fundraiser has been the annual Healdsburg Crush, usually held in the Plaza. It will take place in October again this year, but in keeping with the city’s recent push for all such events to take place elsewhere, the Crush will take place at Bacchus Landing on Sunday, Oct. 11.
“It’s wonderful that Bacchus Landing is hosting us, and it’s also heartbreaking to no longer be on the Plaza,” Weiss said. “I did everything that I could with the influence that I had, and got nowhere.”
Donations to the Healdsburg Campaign for Kids supporting the new clubhouse can be made at bgcsonoma-marin.org/healdsburgcampaign.
