Comments ranged from “we’ve waited a long time for this” to
“it’s going to block my view of the pond,” with most of the
comments positive.
By By: Norma Engelberg
Visitors packed the Woodland Park City Council Chambers Feb. 15
and crowded around the illustrated plans for the Woodland Park
Family YMCA.
Comments ranged from “we’ve waited a long time for this” to
“it’s going to block my view of the pond,” with most of the
comments positive.
Members of the local YMCA building committee and the architects
were on hand to answer questions. After the one-hour open house,
city public works director David Buttery and Brian Risley, the
principle architect from Christiansen, Reece & Partners,
presented the entire plan, as it stands thus far, to city council
and the television-viewing audience.
Buttery gave a brief history of the project. The desire for a
recreation center was expressed in a survey conducted in the mid
1990s, he said.
“The community wanted a recreation center but it didn’t want to
fund it,” Buttery said.
Instead of using property taxes, the YMCA will use sales taxes
and because the city can afford to construct the building but not
to operate it, a partnership with the YMCA was created.
“It isn’t just a recreation center any more,” Buttery said.
“It’s a YMCA.”
The city owns a number of properties, but the site at Memorial
Park was deemed the best location, Buttery said, adding, “It’s a
good centralized location with an easy connection on Center Street
to the [Downtown Development Authority] redevelopment
project.”
Once the site was chosen, a community survey brought in
suggestions for facilities.
Buttery read letters sent to city manager Mark Fitzgerald from
local fourth-graders in response to the survey.
“One said ‘people need a Y so they won’t have to risk their
lives going to the Y in Colorado Springs,'” he said. “Another said,
‘Woodland Park needs to exercise to make their hearts stronger so
they will live longer.'”
Several others said kids had to go to Colorado Springs to do fun
things and they’re spending money there instead of in Woodland
Park, he said.
“These are good insights coming from fourth-graders,” he
added.
After choosing the architectural firm, the city chose a general
contractor – Nunn Construction – which also constructed the
Woodland Park and Florissant public libraries, the addition to the
Woodland Park High School and Woodland Park Police
complex.
With the history out of the way, Risley took over, first
reminding his audience that this is just a preliminary plan and
there will be more changes before the final plan takes
shape.
“The site has amazing views, which the design preserves,” Risley
said. “The bulk of the building will be to the north and west of
the pond, preserving the rest of the park as a place for summer
community gatherings and picnics.”
Care also was taken to preserve the trees along Center
Street and as many of those in the park as possible, especially
the three large blue spruce trees that will be in front of the
building.
Other elements in the design include:
The new building will tie in with city hall through repeated
design elements and materials.
Woodland Park Senior Center will be linked to the YMCA through a
covered picnic area and pedestrian walkway.
The building’s lower level will have a two-story gymnasium, two
pools – a regulation-size lap pool suitable for competitions and a
family pool – a racquetball court, changing rooms, locker rooms
connecting to the gym and the pools, administrative offices, a
child-watch center and community areas.
The upper level will have a wellness center with cardio-workout
equipment and a weight center, a walking/running track around the
upper level of the gym and a group fitness area.
Air conditioning units and other mechanicals will be kept inside
the building for ease of maintenance and aesthetics
Buttery finished the presentation with, “Remember, some of what
you’ve seen here in 35 minutes has been 12 years in the making. We
haven’t set the elevations and exteriors yet, but construction is
set to begin in the spring of ’08 for a spring ’09
opening.”