To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
Through: David L. Corliss, Town Manager
From: Jeff Brauer, Director of Parks and Recreation
Title
Indoor Recreation Facility Feasibility Study Update
Body
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Executive Summary
The Parks and Recreation Department has retained architectural firm, Barker Rinker Seacat (BRS) to complete an Indoor Recreation Facility Feasibility Study in 2021. The purpose of the study is to assess the relevant project details for the Town’s next recreation center, such as programming options, development costs, soft costs, operational needs, space and site requirements and a timeline. A new facility will take several years to plan and this feasibility study represents the first step in this process. The evaluation of potential sites will occur in a subsequent study.
The Castle Rock community has supported Town-operated, indoor recreation for over 30 years. Since 1986, the Town of Castle Rock has thoughtfully planned, implemented and maintained public recreation facilities to support active lifestyles, health and wellness, youth development and multi-generational social interaction, enhancing quality of life and community character. The Castle Rock Community Recreation Center was developed in 1988 (population 10,000) through a voter-supported bond initiative.
Impact fees were later adopted to provide new community recreation facilities to ensure growth helped pay for growth-related impacts. Impact fees funded the expansion of the Recreation Center in 2006 and the development of the Miller Activity Complex in 2014. Indoor recreational facilities are an essential level of service provided by the Town and are primarily funded through impact fees charged to new residential development.
The Town of Castle Rock will need to maintain quality of life expectations for a growing community as we transition from a population of over 76,000 to a community of over 100,000. The recreation industry is thriving with a primary emphasis on participation, wellness and experiential fitness. Drivers of this trend include escalating health insurance costs, the demand for healthy lifestyles, increased access to information through technology wearables such as Fitbit, accessibility to streaming exercise classes and adventure-based recreation. The Castle Rock community is a population of participants, seeking new activities and experiences. The Town will need continued commitment to meet residents’ recreation needs. Unlike private health clubs or specialized facilities, demand for large, team-based athletic spaces such as gymnasiums, ice or competitive pools is unlikely to be met by the private sector.
The new indoor recreation facility will ideally complement the Town’s existing recreation facilities and the study will consider existing facility amenities during the program development. The goal of the project will be to provide diverse amenities with opportunities during all life stages and to support the financial viability of the Community Center Fund, which currently derives 60% of its revenues through user fees.
Based upon current observation of existing facility operations, Parks and Recreation Department staff believes the operation of three centers, each focused on a specific market and demographic, will be the best way to relieve pressure on existing facilities, expand new recreational opportunities to residents and accommodate the growing Castle Rock Community. The study will assess this assumption. One of the tools we have at our disposal to gauge community preferences is to conduct a community survey. However, total population served, potential partnerships, development costs and the return on investment for specific uses will also be significant drivers of decision making.
To date, BRS has met with Town staff and the Parks and Recreation Commission to start developing cost assessments related to various program options. Staff plan to soon host a study session with Town Council to gather additional feedback on options, as well as seek their direction on various project components and funding models. BRS will then initiate a consultant-led, statistically-valid community survey to better understand community preferences. Once complete, staff will work with BRS to finalize the study and initiate a site selection process.
The Recreation Facility Feasibility Study is consistent with the Town of Castle Rock Comprehensive Plan and the Castle Rock Parks and Recreation Strategic Plan.
Budget Impact
New capital construction funding is generated through parks and recreation impact fees charged to new residential development. Each year the Town updates its capital planning based upon development projections. The capital schedule may be advanced or delayed depending on the rate of residential development. The current 2021-2025 Parks and Recreation Capital Improvement Plan includes the design and construction of a neighborhood component to the Cobblestone Ranch park site, a yet to be determined neighborhood park and the early payoff of the COP debt used to construct the Miller Activity Complex. In 2026, $20 million is projected to be available for indoor recreation or park capital construction. Approximately $5 million per year will be available after 2026 based upon current growth projections. If current growth rates continue, Castle Rock could have 90,000 residents by 2026.
Benchmarking data from neighboring communities provides additional cost examples. The South Suburban Parks and Recreation District just completed the South Suburban Sports Complex, a 213,000 square foot facility with three sheets of ice, a double gymnasium, double-dashered fields, a restaurant and bar and a team training area at a cost of over $70 million. In February, the City of Aurora just announced the construction of a new 60,000 square foot community recreation center priced at $42 million.
Regardless of the construction type or project scale, the current study indicates that the Town will have to find additional funding through partnerships, COP or bond debt, adjusting priorities for existing funding sources or adjusting expectations for what may be included in a first phase. And while debt financing has a cost, so does extending the timeframe. Cost escalation in construction materials and labor could add anywhere between $1.5 - $2 million per year. In 2026, a $30 - $40 million facility of today could cost $37 - $50 million.
However, while growth will continue to fund the incremental expansion of new indoor community recreation facilities, public/private partnerships may provide ways to deliver larger, more innovative projects to residents sooner. New recreation facilities capable of attracting tournaments with state-of-the-art sports training and venues, or public partnerships with agencies such as the Douglas County School District to create a regional aquatics facility, may be economic drivers to provide additional opportunities for residents that may not otherwise be available.
History of Past Town Council, Boards & Commissions, or Other Discussions
To provide context to the initial study, BRS led Town staff and Parks and Recreation Commission members through an exercise designed to understand the costs for potential indoor amenities. Staff and Commission completed the exercise independently of one another and were tasked to consider the current Town recreation offerings as well as existing and planned regional amenities. Both teams were also directed to prioritize amenities for future phasing consideration.
The exercise considered the core basic infrastructure for a new community center, such as lobby areas, common areas, storage, restrooms, locker rooms and other basic amenities necessary for most indoor facilities. The groups then considered additional options such as fitness areas, meeting rooms, youth and teen rooms, gymnasiums, pools, ice, synthetic turf, indoor tracks and more. Each potential amenity had a range of sizes - for instance, a single or double high school sized gym to a large fieldhouse with a multiple courts. Each amenity included a return on investment scale to indicate likely cost recovery and as well as construction costs.
Upon completion, both staff and Commission shared very similar visions for a community recreation center. The primary difference was that staff deferred a competitive pool option to a future phase to more closely match available funding. Attachment A shows a Venn diagram of the commonalities between the two groups. Attachment B shows a specific listing of the facilities selected and includes projected construction, site and soft costs at 2021 pricing.
The staff exercise resulted in a $30 million dollar first phase, while the Commission vision for the first phase was approximately $40 million. Additional phases were also included with the idea that ultimately all amenities listed would be built in the future, either on one consolidated site or in two or more locations. Costs were based upon a mid-range cost of construction and related finishes.
Discussion
The overwhelming success of the Castle Rock Community Recreation Center and the Miller Activity Complex can be described as innovative and far reaching, continuing to have a positive impact on the quality of life in Castle Rock. Local parks and recreation facilities serve as the cornerstone of nearly every community. They are places where people can go to be active, participate in healthy activities, connect with the community and are uniquely positioned to serve as a hub for health and wellness.
The existing Castle Rock Community Recreation Center is an 80,000 square-foot facility with a 25-yard pool, leisure pool, single gymnasium, two racquetball courts, indoor track, free weight area, strength circuit equipment, cardio equipment, spin studio, four locker rooms, group fitness rooms, senior center, child care rooms, pottery studio, meeting rooms and kitchen. The facility is popular with seniors and provides a venue for family developmental recreation activities.
The Miller Activity Complex is a 60,000 square-foot center that includes a leisure pool with up to four lap lanes, locker rooms, two party rooms, indoor playground, trampoline zone, lounge, functional fitness area, golf simulator, an 85’x85’ dashered field and an 85’x70’ dashered field with drop-down batting cages. The facility is youth focused both in terms of team sports and for the play elements offered.
The Castle Rock Recreation Center and Miller Activity Complex are community based and family oriented. Private entities, such as Soccer Buddies, Interconnections Yoga, My Gym and others depend on these facilities to operate their small businesses. These entities, along with Town staff, offer cultural arts, life skill development, athletics, fitness and wellness programs and structured and unstructured play for all generations and abilities. Castle Rock recreation facilities coexist with HOA recreation and private facilities like 24 Hour Fitness and Planet Fitness, because the Town goes beyond the core of offering traditional fitness to provide diverse programming and facilities, such as community pools, open gymnasiums and athletic fields that typically are not financially viable as private sector offerings in a community the size of Castle Rock.
Castle Rock’s indoor recreation facilities also provide space for school district recreation and athletics. As the community grows, demand for this space increases. Although private facilities have helped to meet the needs for fitness, they have not done the same for senior services, team and spectator sports or delivered facilities such as gymnasiums, indoor fields, ice or competitive aquatics. Moving forward, innovative approaches will be needed to maintain the high quality of recreation services that residents have come to expect and frequently give as reasons for living in Castle Rock. With the pending expiration of the Douglas County School District intergovernmental agreement (IGA), the timing for this project is appropriate. Castle Rock growth has demonstrated that a tiered approach between private and public facilities is necessary to meet the demand of residents.
The proposed third recreation facility is envisioned to meet the need for competitive youth and active adults, primarily through the addition of the first new public indoor gymnasium and competitive pool since the Castle Rock Community Center was constructed in 1988. The new facility should have the potential to be incrementally expanded over time on a site that will allow for future growth. The following program options are being proposed for consideration and evaluation.
Potential Program Options:
• Competitive natatorium: With a minimum of 10, 25-yard lap lanes, dedicated spectator areas, locker rooms and a warm up pool (as an alternative, a 50-meter pool with moveable bulkhead)
• Multi-court gymnasium: Evaluate a minimum of a double gymnasium
• Fitness area: Focus on group fitness, sports and team training, cardio/strength and conditioning area with spin studio
• Indoor track or adventure track: Year-round fitness and conditioning for all ages and abilities
• Meeting rooms: To meet demand for town-wide deficiency for meeting room space
• Ice: 185’x85’ ice sheet
• Multi-use indoor synthetic fields
The purpose of the study is not to select the ultimate programming for a new recreation facility or a location at this time, rather it is to establish the goals and vision for the project and provide a baseline assessment for future development, which will also provide context for the site selection process to occur at the completion of this study. Accordingly, staff will need to work with Town Council to consider the following questions:
• Is the vision for creating a hybrid recreation / sports facility the correct vision?
• What is the cost recovery goal for the facility?
• If an operational subsidy is required, what is the amount and the source of funding?
• What amenities will be included in the first phase?
• Is there a desire to expand the program through borrowing or through other funding sources or partnerships?
• What is the timetable and what are the impacts of time?
Staff Recommendation
The information in this memorandum is intended as an update, and staff look forward to future discussions with Town Council.
Attachments
Attachment A - Venn Diagram
Attachment B - Preliminary Rough Order of Magnitude Cost Estimates