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 Funds to Anchor Construction of Salvation Army’s Kroc Family Center
State Sen. Vincent Hughes today
announced a $3.45 million state grant to
support the construction of the
Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Family
Center that will be built at 4200 Wissahickon Avenue, Philadelphia.
Groundbreaking for the $69 million
construction project is slated for early
January.
 Joining him at the announcement were Sen. Mike
Stack (D-Phila.) newly elected Vice
Chair of the Senate Appropriations
Committee; Sen. Lawrence Farnese,
Jr. (D-Phila.), Major Jorge Diaz,
Salvation Army, General Secretary &
Philadelphia Director of Operations;
Councilman Curtis Jones, Jr., 4th Council District;
Kevin Dow, Deputy Commerce Director,
City of Philadelphia (representing Mayor
Michael Nutter); David Panichi,
Chairman, T.N. Ward Company; Amy Stein,
Associate, MGA Partners; and Mario
Zacharjasz, Principal, PZS Architects.
“Despite the tough economic times we are facing
here in the Commonwealth and all across
the country, I still believe that an
investment in families and communities
is just as, if not more important than
the investment we make in the bricks and
mortar of the state-of-the-art complex
that will stand on this site in a few
short years," Hughes said. "After all,
the people are the foundation on which
communities are built.”
Kroc Centers are part of a national
initiative bequeathed by Joan Kroc,
philanthropist and widow of McDonald’s
restaurants founder Ray Kroc, to build
25 family “super” centers of
opportunity, education, recreation, and
inspiration throughout the United States
as “beacons of hope” for troubled
communities.
The 104,000 square foot Salvation Army
Kroc Center will be situated on 12.4
acres located adjacent to the old Budd
plant building. Hughes said the Kroc
Center’s economic benefit to
Philadelphia is significant. Most
immediately, the two-year construction
project will stimulate $75 million in
economic activity and support more than
320 jobs. When the family center
opens, $12 million of economic activity
will be generated annually, supporting
170 jobs each year. Additionally, plans
for the Kroc Center have already begun
to spark economic development in the
surrounding areas.
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