AUBURN - If it takes a village, it takes that village a number of critical elements to become a community. People, of course, for beginners. But also access to transit, quality medical care and jobs. A well-stocked library and good schools. Stores and businesses and places to worship, to play and to gather, where people get to know and work with each other, creating the ties that bind and build a community.

A community like Firwood Circle in Auburn. It's a 50-unit public housing complex owned and operated by the King County Housing Authority. As the landlord, the Authority's first and foremost responsibility is to insure that the men, women and children who call Firwood Court" home" have decent, affordable, well-maintained and managed housing. That's why the Authority invested almost $2.3 million in late 2005 for a thorough refurbishment of the 40-year-old complex. New flooring, new kitchen cabinets and fixtures, new windows and blinds.

But even with all that work, the Authority it had more work to do. For years, Firwood Circle's community center had been nothing more than a "cramped room," always buzzing with activity, but with not enough to space to serve all of those who wanted to be a part of that activity. The answer? A newly-renovated and greatly-expanded - to 3,366 square feet - community center where, says Authority director Stephen Norman, that will provide kids with "an exciting opportunity for young people to have fun while acquiring skills critical to academic success and to determining their futures." And while the kids are at school, moms and dads at Firwood Court will be able to use the center to improve their own skills.

Completed in just eight months, the new center- provides residents - and members of the surrounding community - with classrooms, a dedicated computer lab, multipurpose meeting/activity space and private counseling areas. The organization Neighborhood House is offering life skills, mentoring and academic programs for young people while adults will have access to an array of education and employment readiness opportunities provided by the YWCA Seattle/King/Snohomish.

The $1 million project - funded partially with a HUD Capital Fund Community Facilities grant and funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act -is part of a much broader effort by the Authority. In addition to the Firwood Circle project, it's upgrading community centers at six other public housing complexes elsewhere in Auburn, Bellevue and Kent. By 2013, the Authority expects to have 18 centers, operated in partnership with nonprofit providers, serving low-income households across King County, the most populous county in Washington state.

"These beautiful new centers across King County," says HUD Northwest Regional Administrator Mary McBride, "connect people young and old living in affordable housing with great educational and employment resources. Now more than ever, it's critical to help children and families acquire the skills they need to become self-sufficient in a setting that allows them to be an active, contributing part of the community they call home. These centers help open those doors."

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