The kids were the star of last week’s groundbreaking ceremony for the Dylan Jude Harrell Community Center at the Port of Ilwaco. Back row, from left: Hunter and Tyler. Front row: Brynn, Max, Avery, Jackson, Timmy, Willa, Addy, Maeva, Aubrey, Archer, and Gus.

ILWACO — It didn’t hit Claire Bruncke and Jeff Harrell until the fences went up around the construction site last week.

“It still feels a little surreal, but I came down when the fence got put up [last Tuesday] and it kind of felt real,” said Bruncke, executive director of the Dylan Jude Harrell Community Center.

For Harrell, a DJHCC board member and father of the community center’s namesake, Dylan, who passed away in April 2020 after a courageous 20-month battle against a rare and incurable brain cancer, last Wednesday’s groundbreaking ceremony is a moment he thought would never come.

“It is going to be something that this community has never had,” he said. “We’re going to touch things from being able to recruit doctors who can have their child in care for 10 hours, to young families who want good childcare, good facilities, gyms, a community center and after-hour programs.”

Pull Quote

‘We’re going to touch things from being able to recruit doctors who can have their child in care for 10 hours, to young families who want good childcare, good facilities, gyms, a community center and after-hour programs.’

Jeff Harrell, a DJHCC board member

The stars of the show at the Feb. 26 groundbreaking ceremony at the Port of Ilwaco were, appropriately, the children. A baker’s dozen were on hand, armed with shovels and toy trucks to break ground and celebrate the start of construction.

The work to build the community center will be broken up into multiple phases, with this first phase including licensed childcare space for infants and toddlers, space for elementary, after-school and summer programs, an outdoor playground and community space, and a full-size gymnasium. Future phases are slated to include an indoor swimming pool, as well as an indoor field house.

The project’s contractors, Rickenbach Construction out of Astoria, expect that the building will be move-in ready by the end of August, Bruncke said. The hope is that work on the next phase will begin at the tail end of phase one construction; the space tackled during the first phase will be usable while phase two construction is ongoing.

‘A long road’

Last week’s groundbreaking is the latest — and most significant — milestone in the yearslong journey to make the community center a reality.

“It feels like it’s finally here, which is great,” said Bruncke. “I think it’s been a long road — sometimes very winding — but I’m excited we’re here.”

Founded in 2021 with the aim of providing childcare, after-school and recreational opportunities, DJHCC signed a lease agreement with the port for the land that the community center is being built on. Having such a facility on the grounds aligns with the Port of Ilwaco Marina Master Plan, which has had interest since the 1990s in constructing a community center that can hold special events and conferences.

Currently operating out of a space in Long Beach, DJHCC has since secured capital funding from local donors as well as winning state and federal grants over the years, including from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Washington State Department of Commerce. Local businesses that have made large donations include the likes of Adrift Hospitality and Oman and Son Builders Supply, but “if you gave even $5 to the capital campaign, it’s gotten us to this place,” said Bruncke.

The years of work it took to get to this point have been worth it, Harrell and Bruncke said, for the positive effect it could have on local children, families and the economy.

“I mean it’s a gamechanger, right? We’ve never had a space dedicated to kids in this way, and it will draw families from outside this area, too,” said Bruncke. “When a family is looking to move somewhere, programs for their kids are really important. And to have a dedicated space for them is gonna be a big deal.”

As owner of Peninsula Pharmacies, Harrell noted he’s had to allow employees bring their children to work because of a lack of local daycare opportunities. “Having extended hours, more spots and all of those things is going to feed this community in a positive way…We don’t have enough daycare for our own workforce here on the peninsula, so to be able to recruit new families, to keep our families happy, to give our families state-of-the-art facilities [is important].”

Harrell is also excited about the community center’s ability to host events such as sports tournaments, mid-level conventions, sports shows, Saturday markets during the winter, bazaars and more. “You name it and the facility’s going to be able to do it.”

“[It’s also important] for these kids,” said Harrell, referring to the children in attendance at last week’s groundbreaking and the opportunity to provide them with educational and recreational opportunities. “And also to have it in my daughter’s name means a ton to my family; to me, to Casey, to Mason, to Parker.”