Mary Ryan Boys & Girls Club at Sherman Park to receive $2.3M in improvements

MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele and Boys & Girls Clubs announced on Friday, August 26th that beginning on Saturday, the county will move forward with a planned $2.3 million infrastructure investment in the Mary Ryan Boys & Girls Club at Sherman Park.

According to a news release issued by Abele's office, the county will replace the heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems at the Boys & Girls Club. The Mary Ryan Boys & Girls Club HVAC system has exceeded its useful life and is currently 25 years old. The 2015 Milwaukee County Adopted Capital Improvements budget included $250,000 for planning and design of the project. The 2016 Milwaukee County Adopted Capital Improvements budget included $1,943,208 for construction of the project.

Boys and Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee



In order to accomplish this work and keep the public safe during construction, the county and the Mary Ryan Boys & Girls Club agreed that, after summer programming concludes, the center will close on August 27th and reopen in November.

During the closure, the Mary Ryan Club will be providing transportation for its members to attend other area Clubs, including:


    The County and the Boys & Girls Clubs have coordinated this effort. The Club has prepared its membership for this closing and worked with families to find alternate programming locations for children impacted by the closure.

    Chris Abele



    County Executive Abele said the following in a statement:

    "Recent events in Milwaukee have proven how much we rely on institutions like Boys & Girls Clubs to serve as anchors in their communities. The Mary Ryan Boys & Girls Club and Sherman Park itself have given our neighbors a safe space to express their frustrations, counsel those struggling to understand how our community got to this point, and offer solutions for how we move forward, together. It’s clear how important the Mary Ryan Boys & Girls Club is to this community, so it is the right choice to continue with our planned investment to ensure the Club’s future sustainability."


    Boys & Girls Clubs is utilizing the short-term shut-down period to invest in its own capital improvement projects at the Mary Ryan Club that will make enhancements to program spaces. Included in the renovation plans is a new teen center equipped with computers, game systems and a music studio.