A good thing to come out of greasy fast food and gansta rap

As Jeff and I get closer to making adult decisions about buying a house, we become more and more interested in community developments in the city we'd like to call home for awhile. One such development that has us fired up that we've just heard about, is the KROC center that is going to be built on the corner of Pacific Coast Highway and Walnut, which is in our district in Long Beach.

From this website: In 2004, Mrs. Joan Kroc, widow of McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc, gave The Salvation Army an estate gift in excess of $1.5 billion for the exclusive purpose of building KROC Centers in many communities across the United States. The 19-acre Salvation Army Ray and Joan KROC Corps Community Center in Long Beach will include: an education, arts, and cultural complex, supported by a library, computer resource center, classrooms, auxiliary spaces, social spaces, a chapel and an auditorium; a state-of-the-art aquatics center with three pools; a four-court gymnasium with an elevated jogging track, and an extensive weight and fitness area; an administrative and family resource center that will include a drop-in day care component to serve families who are using the Center’s resources; a series of outdoor spaces which consist of field space for active (soccer, football, little league baseball, etc) and passive activity (picnic), along with an amphitheater for larger scale outdoor cultural events. Additionally, low key walking paths for community members to enjoy with their families will be designed in the context of street and neighborhood environments.

Last month the center won the OK from the Long Beach planning commission but they are still $25 million short of the $140 million cost to build it. Snoop Dogg has donated money for it and plans to release a new song with its proceeds also going to the center. Thanks Snoop and McDonalds!