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Architect named to design community recreation center
An effort to build a community recreation center in Mountain Home moved another step forward after an architecture firm was selected to design the actual facility.
During a special meeting Oct. 9, the Western Elmore County Recreation District board of directors approved a recommendation to select the Lombard-Conrad Architects firm to develop plans for the 33,000 square foot facility.
Based out of Boise, the firm was one of four finalists vying for the recreation center contract. A seven-person selection team met with representatives from each company Oct. 7 as part of the final selection process.
Each company presented their proposals on the recreation complex to the committee, which included representatives from the Treasure Valley YMCA and the local recreation district.
The seven-person selection committee was unanimous as they ranked each of the companies, said Keyra Elmo, a local representative with the Treasure Valley organization. She added that the architecture company has designed similar recreation projects in other communities across the region.
On Monday, representatives with the YMCA met with the company to negotiate the final costs associated with the contract. The recreation district board is expected to make its final acceptance at its next public meeting.
If built, the Treasure Valley YMCA and local recreation district would manage this recreation complex, located on South 18th East Street across from Mountain Home Junior High School. The facility is expected to be more than twice the size of the existing Parks and Recreation Activity Center next to St. Luke's Elmore hospital.
Details on what the community facility will actually include are still under review and could change once the final plans are drawn, Elmo said. Plans presented at public hearings in recent years had mentioned basketball courts and an indoor running track with additional space dedicated to other fitness and recreation outlets.
However, it's not certain if some of these amenities will remain in the final version, she added. While original plans called for building an indoor pool when the complex was ready to expand once the initial facility was built, current plans do not call for building a pool.
Before construction can start on the actual building, a separate effort is required to raise more than half million dollars to cover the final building costs. Scheduled to start in November, the capital campaign needs to raise at least $600,000 over a 10-month period to build the $5.1 million recreation complex. Those dollars would tie into $4.5 million in grant funding and collected tax revenues set aside specifically for the building's construction.
However, those actual costs are expected to become more definitive based on the architectural plans. Those estimates would include the actual building costs in addition to the amount of money needed to operate the facility on a day-to-day basis. Those cash flow projections are expected to be finalized by the end of December.
If everything remains on track, the YMCA and recreation district could begin the process of selecting a contractor to build the facility in the last quarter of 2014. Pending the outcome of the capital campaign, construction would begin in early 2015 with the doors due to open about 10 months later.