BROCKTON — Music blared from glowing speakers as eager youths poured into the newly restored and vibrant teen center at the Boys & Girls Club nestled in the heart of the city.
Youngsters dashed in and out of freshly painted rooms, maneuvering around newly installed tables and couches. In the largest of the rooms, an open space dubbed the Chill Zone, their energy seemed magnified by walls now of fluorescent orange.
“It definitely had my heart racing,’’ said Brendan Bienvenu, 17, who said he first began spending time at the club when he was 5 and now heads the Keystone Club, its teen leadership program.
That burst of excitement May 18 followed months of planning that culminated in just a day-and-a-half of work to refurbish the 2,700-square-foot Keystone Teen Center. The $25,000 project was funded and executed by Aaron’s, a lease-to-own furniture dealer with more than 2,000 stores across the United States and Canada, part of a three-year, $5 million partnership with the youth organization the company committed to last year.
“If you would’ve seen our site prior to this,’’ said Samantha Loutzenhiser, the Brockton club’s director of programs and outreach services, “it was pretty sad.’’
She said youths made do with what little they had, pushing desks together, for example, to make a table for studying. But now each specially outfitted room is full of new furniture and equipment, including printers and laptops, beanbag chairs and couches, even an electronic keyboard and drum set.
In the Music Zone, which features professional-grade musical equipment, royal purple walls evoke a sense of creativity. The Arcade Zone, undoubtedly the most popular area on the re-opening day, is painted fire red and outfitted with smart TVs and the latest gaming consoles.
All of this, and much more, was installed just days before by some 34 Aaron’s employees from eight locations in and around the city, said Al Coelho, general manager of the Brockton Aaron’s.
“It was a lot of fun,’’ he said. “Paint was flying everywhere.’’
But that didn’t mean the job was done sloppily or inefficiently. The crew painted each room and assembled and installed most of the furniture in just about seven hours, Coelho said.
What the resulting space would actually look like, however, would be something of a mystery to the teens until the re-opening. They’d been consulted about colors and designs, but Bienvenu, the longtime member, said nothing could have prepared them for what they walked into that sunny afternoon.
“It’s one thing to see it on paper,’’ he said. “It’s a whole other thing to see it done.’’
Emmanuel Janvier, who’s been serving as the club’s teen director for about a month, said the new space will make it easier to connect with more local teens.
“It’s such a cool spot for the youth to take advantage of,’’ he said. “This is going to be a spot for them to brag about.’’
Bret Hauff can be reached at bret.hauff@globe.com. Follow him @b_hauff.
