The Wave Youth Center Expanding Services with a new facility

The Wave Youth Center is experiencing rapid growth, and our current facilities can no longer accommodate our expanding programs. Our small space greatly limits our impact, restricting the number of students we can serve and the breadth of programs we can offer. To address this, we are embarking on an exciting project that goes beyond merely increasing our physical space. Our new approach includes enhancing our services, fostering partnerships, and providing ample indoor recreational areas to match the dynamic energy of our students.

Thanks to a $1.8 million Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) Award facilitated by U.S. Senators Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar, we’ve received a significant boost that has kickstarted our expansion plans. However, to fully realize our vision, additional funding is necessary. Our innovative design for the new center features multifunctional spaces that offer both long-term benefits and immediate revenue opportunities. These include leasing areas to businesses, renting spaces for events, and eventually establishing a storefront. This storefront will act as a vocational training and rehabilitation incubator, created through strategic partnerships. These initiatives are key steps towards making the youth center self-sustaining.

This ambitious project is a community effort. Local residents have actively participated, joining us to tour potential sites for renovation and contributing to the preliminary building designs. They’ve collaborated with contractors, landowners, and local government officials, and have even formed new subcommittees to leverage community expertise.

We invite you to be a part of this transformative journey. Your support will help bridge the gap between the initial funding and the total resources required to complete our project, $8 million. This is not just a large endeavor—it’s a community mission, and we are grateful for the ongoing support and collaboration that continue to drive this project forward.

The new facility will be over 27,000 square feet. It will include:

• Separate program rooms based on activity, art, computer lab, quiet sensory room, library, hang out/game room, and enrichment activity space. 
•  6,400 Sq. Ft of space to lease out
• Commercial Kitchen
• Large recreation and event space for rent
• Eco-friendly design
• Office space for The Wave staff

The goal for this project is to complete the facility debt-free and design a design philosophy that incorporates the following tenets:

• Longevity – The building design and construction should provide a long-term asset to the community that will stand up under time and maintains its looks and function well into the future.
• Reliability – The facility should function without significant expenses or downtime for unforeseen repairs. Similarly, it should enable the owners and operators to accomplish routine maintenance without expensive, time-consuming, or specialized skills.
• Aesthetics – This asset should be a showcase to the community of what can be done when that community puts its mind to a project.
• Economics – Operating costs for the facility should be minimized through efficient design and low environmental impact systems (such as rainwater collection and solar power) that strive to lower both financial and environmental costs.
• Functionality – The facility should, as closely as possible, provide for all the requirements needed to accomplish the mission of the Wave Youth Center.