Five Points Washington

Washington is fortunate to have the tremendous community center Five Points Washington. Opened in 2007, the facility is the realization of the dream of many hard-working Washingtonians who made it a reality, but credit cannot be denied to those who fought for a community center to be a part of Washington in the decades before the Five Points ribbon was cut. The process had more stops and starts than a beginning driving student. This article aims to chronicle Washington’s journey to a community center from the beginning.

Our research shows that the first mention of the construction of a community center in Washington dates back to the creation of the Washington Park District in 1968 and its first large project, the purchase and construction of Washington Park. On the original engineering sketches for the park a community center is included within the property.

When the park was constructed around 1973 the community center was not built along with the other features of the park. Fade out.

Fade in. In late 1975, Association of Commerce president Marvin Hutchings had secured a $50,000 donation commitment from an anonymous resident for the construction of a community center. The problem was other city entities had community center-type plans in mind. The city itself had a civic center in its master plan, most likely to be built near the City Hall building on Jefferson Street, and Washington High School had the construction of an auditorium as one its long-range goals. The town certainly didn’t need all three, but those were seen as problems that could be solved. In Hutchings’ initial concept, a building would be built without park district funds but would be maintained by that organization, with the preferred location still being Washington Park. At a public forum in November 1975 a secondary location of Meadow Valley Park was suggested but met by several objectors as being too far outside of the city.

As the calendar turned to 1976 the project became more organized, as a committee was formed to take a deeper dive into the issue and hopefully make it a reality. The Washington Community Center Committee (WCCC) was formed consisting of over twenty Washingtonians with different strengths and talents to help with the project. Those members were:

Building Committee: Marvin Hutchings, Andy Paloumpis, Ben Powers, Ron Gregg, Laverne Blumenshine

Financial Committee: James McDaniel, Don Dempsey, Donald Paris, Donna Weber, Mayor Ed Habecker

Site committee: George Curtis, Richard Eichelkraut, Fred Joos Jr, Rod Clausen, Ray Torry

Community Interest Committee: Ruth Kinsinger, Rev. Joseph White, Frances Whitaker, Marilyn Roberds

Activities Committee: Virginia West, Paul Leary, Joe Mahony, Greg Martin, Ralph Woolard

There were certainly some heavy hitters in that group, and it is clear they were taking this seriously.

Projected costs for the construction of the community center started at $100,000 and topped out at over $300,000, depending on site and type of building chosen.

You have to put in perspective what the WCCC was asking to build in the 1970’s and not confuse it with what you see with today’s Five Points facility. The plans back then basically called for a building with rooms for meetings, not an expansive building containing a pool, exercise facility, and auditorium. This could have been done to not conflict with the high school’s future plans for an auditorium. It was not comparable to what you see at Five Points today. The building features they envisioned presently can be found in a few local churches and several other places in town, but back then it did not exist anywhere in Washington.

The WCCC started exploring alternate sites, including Wilmor Road across from the football field and the open area at the north end of the high school property at the eastern terminus of Kingsbury Road. They were also still exploring options on the western edge of town, as well the southwest corner of Main St. and Cruger Road.

The WCCC knew they needed money for such a project, and they knew they needed public support to get this money and more help. To find out if they had this support they created a survey to be completed by residents.

The results of the survey were not at all surprising. Most people wanted a center, but they didn’t want to be taxed, they didn’t want to help, and they didn’t want it to be placed too far west. This has been a common refrain with many different subjects in Washington’s history. For example, the story of the movement of the Washington Library researched by Washington Rewind held many of the same community sentiments.

Not sensing significant financial support from the community, the WCCC sought out federal funds to help in the construction of the community center. Those funds were denied because the Washington area did not have a low enough unemployment rate. According to the government, the residents of Washington could afford to help, so the government’s help wasn’t needed.

The WCCC explored making one last effort to raise funds for the community center in 1977 but after a few weeks folded up shop with the economy starting to slide. Fade out.

Fade in. In 1989 the city of Washington approved a long-range plan to construct a community center “north of the retention pond in the Washington Road TIF district.” It is unclear where exactly that was but most likely in the area behind what is now Connect Church. None of that area was developed at the time. Nothing came of that plan. Fade out.

Fade in. In 1993, Washington Park District president Ron Gregg had a vision. He approached landowner Howard Spurgeon about a tract of land west of Babcook Field at the high school on Wilmor Road and inquired about purchasing it. Spurgeon had just sold a section of the property for the construction of a new firehouse. When one looks back at Gregg’s original vision, it is amazing how close it was to what Five Points ended up being. He was proposing an auditorium, indoor pool, walking track, and basketball courts. He also envisioned an outdoor space large enough to host Good Neighbor Days as well as a sidewalk connecting the facility to Washington Christian Village for convenience.

This proposal had a name, the Wilmor Municipal Park. Gregg wisely approached Washington High School with his plan and then school board president Rita Fischbach was an early strong supporter, but the plan fizzled there. Fade out.

Fade in. The Washington 2000 Foundation consisted of a group of residents who formed in 1996 looking to raise money for Washington improvement projects. Grown from an original idea by Dr. Paul Kinsinger, the organization encouraged Washingtonians to donate money in their will to the foundation, for the betterment of the city. Their first big project was to lease the 11 acres of land on Wilmor Road from Harold Spurgeon to get the ball rolling on turning that area into a community hotspot. After being 11 acres of corn in 1995, in 1996 the foundation seeded it with grass in anticipation of hosting the 1997 Good Neighbor Days Festival and constructing two soccer fields to be used by the high school. Good Neighbor Days (later the Cherry Festival) was held there from 1997-1999. Fade out.

Fade in. At the 1999 Cherry Festival, a new organization called the Washington Area Community Center Board had set up a table to gauge resident interest and need of a community center in town to be built on the Wilmor property. The board had taken possession of the property, partially due to the generosity of Howard Spurgeon, and partially due to a grant awarded to them by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs. The land was paid for. Unlike 1976, this board wasn’t seeking donations of $100,000 from the public for a building with three meeting rooms, a kitchen and a piano stage. They were seeking contributions for a three to five million dollar project to put Ron Gregg’s original vision into reality. By May 2000 the numbers became clearer: the board needed $3 million in donations to make this project feasible.

After a year of fundraising the board had raised 1.3 million dollars, with some potentially significant corporate donations on the horizon. They had also contacted Washington High School about the possibility of partnering on the construction of the auditorium.

Fundraising slowed over the next year when only $200,000 was raised, so a new plan was developed. In 2002 the board sought out partnerships with the city, the park district, the high school, and the Washington Library to pool their resources to push the project over the goal line.

On October 5, 2003, ground was finally broken for the construction of Washington’s first community center. The work was expected to take at least two years to complete.

In February 2006 the Washington City Council approved an increase in the sales tax to help pay off the city’s portion of the community center tab. Alderman Joe Grieser was the lone dissenting vote, and resigned his position immediately after hearing the result.

Grieser said Tuesday he resigned because he doesn't think Washington residents should endure a tax hike to benefit a private project. "Whenever I voted on something that came before the council, I took into consideration how it would benefit my neighbors, especially retirees and others on fixed incomes," Grieser said. "These people aren't going to benefit from the community center. They can't afford to join it. This project is like Robin Hood in reverse. It's robbing the poor to serve the wealthy." (Peoria Journal Star 2/22/2006)

In September 2006, residents were invited on a tour of the still incomplete facility. Nearly 2,000 residents filed through the center that day, giving it glowing praise.

The work continued into 2007 with a projected opening in October. Very late in the game, in August, the name Washington Area Community Center was changed to Five Points Washington. It was a marketing decision, nothing more, and the decision left many residents confused.

On October 1, 2007, Five Points Washington officially opened. The final cost for the facility hovered around the $21.3 million mark. In the end the center received $9 million in private donations. Two months after opening the center had shattered expectations and had signed up almost 4,000 members.

Today, the “five points” (the Washington District Library, Washington Community High School, Washington Park District, City of Washington, and Washington Area Community Center Inc.) who came together to produce such a wonderful facility should be lauded for their efforts. The auditorium, aquatic facility, reception rooms, library, and exercise areas have definitely made their mark on the Central Illinois area, with many more contributions undoubtedly still to come.