Weather Delays Kroc Center

COEUR D’ALENE-Frigid temperatures have delayed the opening of the Salvation Army’s new Ray & Joan Kroc Community Center in Coeur d’Alene.

The $35 million center was scheduled to open April 4. Instead, it will open in May.

"We only missed a few days from the record snowfall but the extreme cold slowed things a bit in early January," said Maj. John Chamness, Kroc Center executive director. "It got so cold we couldn’t pour concrete."

Even with the extreme conditions, construction is scheduled to be complete by mid-April, with the dedication ceremony set for May 7, 8, and 9, after the center has received a certificate of occupancy from the city.

The 123,000-square-foot building is expected to open to the public on Monday, May 11.

"We’re still out there, still working," Chamness said, adding a schedule of tours, events and promos for the dedication weekend will be announced soon.

Despite the delay, it will still be the third center to open since Joan Kroc passed away in 2003. She left $1.5 billion to the Salvation Army to build between 28 and 32 community centers across the country.

When it does open, guests will be able to choose from two types of membership status, silver and gold.
Silver memberships offer guests access to the aquatic center, multi-activity gym, cardio and weight center, fitness equipment orientation, game lounge and private changing rooms.

Gold memberships earn access to all the silver perks, as well as three free fitness coaching sessions, drop-in land and water fitness activities and a 10 percent discount on registration fees for all classes, programs, camps and rentals.

The center sits on a 12-acre corner of Ramsey Road and Golf Course Road. A traffic signal at the busy intersection was just installed. Chamness has been seeking donations of about $250,000 to help cover the costs of installing it.

Coeur d’Alene residents contributed $6.7 million in private donations last year for the center. The Salvation Army is matching a $34 million endowment for operational costs.

Tom Hasslinger
Staff writer
CDA Press