Kroc mulls expansion

COEUR d'ALENE - Forget the cars, where are you going to put 20,000 members?

While it's no surprise by now that the Salvation Army Ray and Joan Kroc Community Center has surpassed membership expectations, Associate Director Maj. Ben Markham said the center has kicked around the idea of expanding the 123,000-square-foot facility to accommodate those numbers.

"We're really just exploring options," Markham said Friday. "That's one that's been tossed around."

But, he added, it's just talk right now.

And blueprints on how they could build on the 12-acre plot of land the center already fills could be such a logistic nightmare, they may never get past the idea stage.

"We're pretty limited," he said. "We already take up most of the footprint."

Nevertheless, it's an idea the center's Executive Advisory Board has discussed on how to help relieve congestion in the multi-purpose community center.

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"We started realizing we had some challenges a couple months ago," Markham said about the membership numbers.

"We thought that it would level off some time ago," he said.

But it hasn't.

Membership is 20,000 strong less than a year after opening, which has created some problems.

Markham said the center has heard from members that it can be difficult to access the amenities during peak hours, typically after-school hours or school vacation days.

So while building bigger could help that, the center is focusing on possible quicker fixes such as expanding hours on weekends or evenings, moving equipment around, or making sure classes and other events aren't scheduled simultaneously when they don't have to be.

Expanding the 352-space parking lot is still in the talking stages as well.

All things told, Markham said, it's a good problem to have - a community center that is fully utilized by the community.

Between 2,500 and 2,600 people visit the Kroc every day, and a majority of the memberships are families.

"We're asking them to be patient as we explore different possibilities at what we can do," he said.