Late on June 21, 2009, Donna Schuurman picked up her home phone and heard the news: The Dougy Center was on fire.
So the center’s executive director jumped in her car and headed to Southeast 52nd Avenue.
“Driving over, I knew two things,” Schuurman said. “There would be a before and an after. And the Dougy Center would rise from the ashes.”
It hasn’t risen yet. The construction site is nothing more than a huge hole. But thanks to donors, the Dougy Center, which for 30 years has provided support for more than 30,000 grieving children and their families, will be rebuilt at its old site in the 3900 block of 52nd.
Schuurman told supporters that the new, $4.9 million facility should be complete by the end of 2012.
Three years ago, a series of neighborhood fires appeared to be arson. Two were at the Dougy Center but were minor.
Then came the fire that destroyed the center. Investigators ruled it had been set intentionally; no arrests have been made.
