The Phinney Neighborhood Center tried to raise $30,000 from the community to help pay for an elevator to make the building more accessible – and ended up raising $40,161.
Those funds come from 249 households and businesses, 11 company matches, 33 Beer Taste patrons, a generous donation from the Phinney Neighborhood Preschool Co-op and $2,443 worth of potholder sales at the Winter Festival. Thank you for all you’ve done to help put an elevator in the Blue Building.
We expect to start construction of the Blue Building elevator by July 2012. In addition to the elevator, we also plan to do seismic retrofitting on the building, an improved entryway and a small community plaza. Barring any unforeseen complications we hope to complete the project by late fall. In the meantime, thanks to a grant from 4Culture, brickwork on the two small outbuildings on Dayton Avenue – the former fan building and the boiler room – is being restored and both buildings will be reroofed.
For a quarter of a century, the PNA has had a vision to create a living, enduring place that allows people of all ages and abilities to gather together and share their lives, ideas and experiences, creating a sense of belonging and a deeper commitment to our community. Our Community Begins Here Campaign has successfully raised $5.3 million in a very difficult economy, allowing us to purchase the Phinney Neighborhood Center campus from the School District, preserving a neighborhood landmark, and ensuring its ability to serve our extended community for generations to come. We are proud of our accomplishments to date!
