SALEM Web site offers view of progress on center

Construction photographs are updated about every two weeks.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- Progress on the Salem Community Center's construction can be monitored by members of the public, and they don't even have to leave home to do it.
They will need a computer with Internet access, however.
The community center's Web site, www.salemcommunitycenter.com, allows visitors to access a photo gallery depicting the building of the two-story, 50,000-square-foot community center.
Updates: The center's board wanted some way to keep those interested in the construction progress updated without people having to drive to the construction site along North Ellsworth Avenue near 12th Street, Eric Green, center director, explained last week.
Initially, thought was given to having a video camera at the site that could be accessed via the Web.
But Green said the idea was tossed in favor of a Web site photo gallery because the quality of photographs would be better than the picture from a video feed.
The photos are updated about every two weeks, thanks to Jeff Hochadel, a community center board member and Perry Township trustee who takes the pictures.
Progress on the $9.5 million center is on schedule. The structure should be under roof by the first of the year, Green said.
Construction photos aren't the only thing available through the center's Web site.
Online visitors may e-mail Green, examine floor plans of the center and view an artist's rendering of what it will look like when it's finished.
That's expected to happen on schedule next fall, Green said.
Meanwhile, the center's board is trying to determine what it will cost to use the facility.
Membership prices may be announced by early December, Green said.
What it will offer: The center will feature a fitness room, running track, teen and community lounges, meeting rooms and an arts and crafts area.
The private, nonprofit facility is being made possible by a grant from the Salem Community Foundation, a local charitable organization.
leigh@vindy.com