LEWISTON — The nonprofit Tree Street Youth Center announced in March that it was launching a fundraising goal of $1.3 million to expand.

On Tuesday, an excited Executive Director Julia Sleeper announced $1.5 million has been raised.

The bigger and better center is expected to open in March, Sleeper said.

She credited exceeding the fundraising goal in less than a year “to a lot of really positive energy.”

“People are excited to be a part of the project,” she said. “We had pretty significant supporters come forward at the end that we didn’t anticipate. It put us over.”

The actual expansion cost is $1.4 million. Raising $1.5 million means the center doesn’t have to worry about financing expansion costs, and can use extra money for building reserves.

Construction on the expansion, being built by Hebert Construction of Lewiston, is underway.

“We’re well on our way toward renovating over half the center,” Sleeper said.

When the center opens three or four months from now, it will have double the indoor and outdoor space.

Tree Street opened in 2011 as a drop-in after-school program in a corner of the Birch Street building. Sleeper, a recent Bates College graduate, saw a need to provide academic and enrichment support for children.

Five years later, the program owns its building and is expanding into the entire structure, taking over an old painting contractor’s warehouse next door, turning it into a modern space for students in the sixth grade and up.

The new space will feature a multipurpose gym and auditorium, a gaming area and study spaces, and will be transformative, Sleeper said. It will better allow Tree Street, its workers and volunteers to enrich the lives of “a record high number of youth and families.” 

The center serves between 120 and 150 students each day. This fall, 500 new students showed up, compared to 375 the year before, Sleeper said.

“We’re excited about the new direction this could take us and how we can better serve all the kids with more quality space,” Sleeper said. More outdoor play space means there will be separate places for young children and older children, she said.

Tree Street is naming the new community center the Geiger Center for Learning and Leadership after one of the larger sponsors, Gene and Peter Geiger.

“Anybody who knows Tree Street is in awe,” Peter Geiger said Wednesday. “Gene and I are thrilled to have our name on the building.”

In March, the Geigers had donated $150,000 toward the project. Peter Geiger declined to say Wednesday how much they have donated. He said he was excited the fundraising goal was exceeded.

“It’s a tribute to Julia, her staff and the purpose of Tree Street,” Geiger said. “Anyone who’s been through the facility is impressed.”

A state leader in student aspirations, Geiger said he was thrilled with the number of Tree Street students who go on to college with help from the center.

What the Tree Street staff and volunteers do, and how they do it, “is so central to what’s important in our community,” Geiger said.

“What she’s doing, developing skills for the children and giving them the ability to go on to college,” will not only enhance their lives but the community, he said.