The Salvation Army introduced a new Kroc Center on Saturday in Hawaii, the largest community center of its kind in the state.
Kroc Center Hawaii, a $133 million facility, spreads across a 15-acre campus located off Kualaka’i Parkway in Kapolei. Center officials are planning for the center to serve approximately 2,000 people per day with its 14,000-square-foot fitness center, 7,532-square-foot conference center, 500-seat performance art center, two giant water slides, one Olympic-size pool, a café and a preschool.
Funds for Kroc Center Hawaii came in part from a $1.5 billion donation made to the Salvation Army by Joan Kroc, widow of McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc. In addition to this donation, six years of planning, two years of construction and $23 million in local fundraising and private donations went into the building of Kroc Center Hawaii.
Laura Kay Rand, development director for Kroc Center Hawaii, said the new center offers several outlets for the community that previously were not available, from working out to education enrichment in the arts.
Nearly 1,000 people have already signed up for a membership to the center, which officially opens for business on Wednesday.