Boys & Girls Club welcomes Project Jupiter donation

LAS CRUCES — A project that would triple the service capacity for the Boys & Girls Club of Las Cruces by repurposing a long-closed movie theater will finally break ground, the club announced, thanks to a $1.5 million donation.

“This gift will ensure that more young people have access to high-quality, safe spaces with meaningful and enriching programs when they are not in school,” Club CEO Ashley Echavarria said Tuesday, after receiving a ceremonial check at the Doña Ana County board’s work session.

BorderPlex Digital Assets and Stack Infrastructure, the developers building the large AI-dedicated data center in Santa Teresa known as Project Jupiter, announced the contribution. 

The developers committed to supporting community organizations and local projects under an agreement underpinning the county-approved industrial revenue bond financing the project. The developers have also sought to allay concerns about the data center's impacts on air quality and water demands, and criticisms of its local outreach ahead of the commissioners' vote, by establishing ties with local organizations and exploring a renewable energy purchasing plan.

The nonprofit Boys & Girls Club chapter provides youth development programming spanning sports and recreation, the arts, health education and leadership. It has been campaigning for years to raise funds for a new headquarters, having been housed in a former church close to downtown since 1965.

In 2024, it overcame a major hurdle when it acquired the former Video 4 cinema on El Paseo Road with a combination of federal American Rescue Plan Act funds and an in-kind donation from the Allen Theatres corporation.

Since then, the Boys and Girls Club has focused on fundraising to move the project forward with plans to include a STEM lab, arts and gymnastic facilities and a dedicated space for teenage members. The club plans to serve more than 300 youth daily at its future home, tripling its current estimate of 100.

The club announced that the Project Jupiter donation boosted its capital campaign past 75% of its $10 million goal, allowing construction to begin while they continue to raise funds to complete the project and support additional programming.

Tessa Abeyta, a former Las Cruces city councilor who is now Stack’s community development director, stated in a news release that the Boys & Girls Club “plays a critical role in providing safe spaces, educational opportunities, and mentorship for young people.”

Flanked by children wearing the club’s blue T-shirts, Echavarria thanked the developers for the contribution as well as county commissioners, saying, “This isn’t just an investment in bricks and mortar; it’s much bigger than that. It’s an investment in kids and teens. It’s an investment in families. It’s an investment in our entire community.”

Algernon D'Ammassa is the Journal's southern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at adammassa@abqjournal.com.