POST FALLS - After seven years of fundraising and four years of offering youth programs, the Boys and Girls Club of Kootenai County plans to construct a facility that it can call its own this year.

The nonprofit, which offers after-school and summer activities, intends to break ground on an 8,800-square-foot facility between the Post Falls Library and school district's administration building in April, with completion around Thanksgiving.

"We're excited about moving forward with the vision and delivering on the promise to build a facility that's safe for kids," said Eric Keck, a club board member and Post Falls city administrator.

Club executive director Ryan Davis and his staff are currently serving about 60 students ages 6-18 in Coeur d'Alene out of Sorensen Elementary and 340 in Post Falls out of the Post Falls Church of the Nazarene next to Mullan Trail Elementary.

The club's board decided to build a scaled-down facility from what it originally planned in Post Falls. The estimated cost will be $1.4 million.

The previous plan called for a 19,000-square-foot, $2.5 million center.

"We don't want to build a big mothership club just in Post Falls," Keck said. "We want to build a club that's the appropriate scope and size for the communities we serve without compromising the quality of our programs."

Keck said the club plans to eventually build a facility in Coeur d'Alene at a site to be determined.

The Post Falls center will include a gym, kitchen, technology area, teen area and open space for games and programs.

The nonprofit has about $800,000 in hand and another $300,000 in pledges that haven't been received. So that means about $300,000 needs to be raised from new investors to reach the $1.4 million total.

"It's a bit of a gamble for us, but we believe the impact of the club will attract additional investors for the last big funding," Keck said. "We believe we can get over the goal line in the next several months so we don't have to take on debt. We've tried to be responsible with how we grow and at what pace."

About 350 students are already signed up to utilize the facility when it opens. Some are on a waiting list at the temporary church site.

"We've stretched the church to the maximum with regard to space, which pushed our desire to move forward," Keck said.

Polin and Young was earlier selected as the builder of the Post Falls facility, while M.L. Architect is doing the design work.