AN ILLUMINATED beacon will draw attention to the Ray and Joan Kroc Corps Community Center at Fourth and Vermont by mid-2011 -- a fitting symbol of a facility that will be a welcoming beacon in its own right.

Vision, hard work and the generous donation of the Kroc family led to Monday's groundbreaking ceremony.

Col. Carol Seiler, the Kroc Project Secretary in the Salvation Army's Central Territory, is overseeing the construction of six Kroc centers in the 11-state zone. Quincy stands out among the communities approved for construction. It is not an urban center or a Salvation Army headquarters.

The $24.5 million facility will have a 500-seat worship center, a gymnasium, cafe, community room, aquatics center, party rooms, fitness center, child care area, a running and walking track, and more. Thanks to the vision of Joan Kroc, widow of the founder of McDonald's, a generous endowment fund will help sustain the center.

This facility will attract people from throughout the region for worship, recreation and support.

Construction is expected to take 18 months, but the wages paid to workers will benefit the community long before the doors open. Once the center is completed it will bring traffic into Quincy's central business district. The masonry and glass exterior of the building also will add to the beauty of downtown Quincy.

Major Lonneal Richardson, the Salvation Army's Midland Divisional leader, said the project has "blessed us far beyond what we could have imagined."

A completed Kroc Center will continue to improve the quality of life for people in Quincy and beyond.