Visiting the Kroc Community Center of Salem Oregon, Oct 2, 2010

On Saturday, October 2, a group of about 10 people from CMPF joined two staff members of the YMCA to tour the new Kroc Community Center in Salem, Oregon. Our purpose of this visit was to learn more and discuss:

1. what an effective community center facilty with imbedded worship space looks like and how it functions;
2. the partnerships the Kroc center has incorporated;
3. how different programs work together to achieve their mission;
4. ideas about YMCA-CMPF partnerships in sharing programs, facilities, staff, volunteers, etc.; and
5. ideas and dreams about what our community center might incorporate.

From that visit the following summary  was generated by those participating from CMPF. This is a compilation/composite of their responses.

Take Aways

Kroc Center Climbing Wall

1. It was great to see examples of a building that combines worship with athletic areas to help visualize possibilities. Very impressive building. The entry area was warm and inviting for both church worship space and athletic activity space.
2. It is worth spending a lot of time and thoughtful consideration of options so that the final result is really serviceable and utilizes the space in the best possible way.
3. The building reflects the priorities. The Kroc center prioritized aquatics, meeting space, large building support staff and high end look and feel in all finishing work and attention to detail. It seemed as though no expense was spared.
4. We don’t always need the very best in accessories and finish work, but our resources would be better spent on a focus of our ministries and target mission.
5. The building design allowed for possibility of future modifications.

Kroc Center Chapel/Worship Space

Great kid slide as part of family swimming area

Aspects appreciated:

1. The warmth of the building was great. The lodge feel on the outside and in the entryway were inviting. The use of the fireplace and gathering area near a coffee cart and general use of colors and natural and artificial light was appealing. Loved the seating areas for small group conversations.
2. The hallway was just the right distance between the two sections (sanctuary+conf rooms and aquatic+fitness area).
3. The design of the conference rooms incorporated flexibility. The walls could be folded away into a closet transforming one space into another (larger or smaller depending on need).
4. Technology was evident and seemed to add to the perception that it was multi-use. (WiFi everywhere).
5. The open feel throughout the building was great – windows in both walls and doors aided in the sense of being included as well as minimizing security issues.
6. The worship sanctuary felt like a very sacred place – but we could also see other multi-use utilizations of it during the week.
7. The pool area and dressing rooms were fantastic (even though the fun pool was too small). The idea of using it to draw people from outside of the Aloha community might be possible if it were done well. Contrast with the service area the Clackamas Swim Center draws from (Portland metro and even Newberg and McMinnville).



Fixed seating and high end finishing details throughout worship center

Hallway leading to conference rooms (center) and Chapel (to the right)





Aspects not appreciated:

1. Little emphasis on children throughout the facility. No classroom-type space was shown to us (except adult or teenager spaces). Teenager/youth space too limiting (staff noted that there was a waiting list of people to use this space at times). Nursery area was really small.
2. The Kroc center seemed to be a community center/conference center with a church inserted. The only part of the church portion that was really church was the actual theatre/sanctuary. The fitness center seemed smaller than what would normally be in a YMCA. Fitness classroom space was too small for this community.
3. Space was not utilized efficiently – lots of excessive square footage and features (rounded walls, domes, expensive carpeting) 
4. Poorly laid out kitchen and connections to service area – several possible bottlenecks in traffic flow when events requiring hundreds of plates for sit-down service need to be prepared and served.
5. Pool was too fancy and too small (mixed use pool). For the larger pool, the volume of water would be hard to justify in terms of what it takes to keep it to the correct temperature. Note that they made one dimension 50meters and the other dimension 50 yards so that events could utilize either dimension.
6. No dedicated large space for fellowship/potlucks, visiting after service, etc.



Kitchen - View 1

Kitchen - View 2