Construction on a long-planned Boys and Girls Club facility in Coupeville has been delayed due to global supply chain disruptions.

Bill Tsoukalas, executive director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Island and Snohomish Counties, said the pre-engineered metal frame of the building is “stuck on a ship somewhere” and might not arrive until June — 11 months after the July 2021 groundbreaking.

“We could have started site work in the fall, but without the material itself, it would have just ended up leaving a mud hole out there, and we just didn’t think that was the route to go,” he said.

The site of the club’s new, larger planned facility is located at 706 S. Main St., near the Coupeville High School. With membership continuing to expand, the club has long since outgrown its current home, the former Coupeville fire station, which it shares with Gifts from the Heart Food Bank.

“We’re busting at the seams,” Tsoukalas said.

The Boys and Girls Club has been a vital resource during the pandemic for many working parents when schools were closed, making the need for the larger space more pressing than ever.

With parents and community members asking questions about when the new facility will be available, Tsoukalas said he wanted to make sure all interested parties stayed in the loop about why the project was delayed.

“We just feel we owe an explanation to the community and the people who have donated money,” he said.

While the club has waited for its frame to arrive, however, the cost of construction materials and labor has increased. The original cost estimate for the construction project was $2 million. Now the cost is around $2.5 million.

Club officials have secured some additional funding to help offset the increased price. The club received $350,000 from the Sunderland Foundation, a Kansas City-based organization that provides grants to nonprofits for construction projects. The foundation granted the Boys and Girls Club its maximum donation amount.

The club is also appealing to the state legislature for another boost of $200,000 to make up the rest of the new cost estimate. The state legislature has already granted the club more than $1.8 million for the project, and the club raised another $100,000 in local donations before the groundbreaking.

Tsoukalas said club officials hope to begin site work in April or May.