Commission reviews two schematic test fits for proposed Birmingham Community and Senior Center as bond timing and funding options draw public scrutiny

Architects from Newman Smith presented two schematic “test-fit” layouts March 24 for a proposed Birmingham Community and Senior Center, showing alternate ways to fit a gym, pool, walking track, multipurpose rooms and shared admin space on the YMCA/NEXT site at Edgewood and Lincoln. The commission and the public spent more than an hour probing parking, pool depth and whether the city should seek voter approval for a construction bond this year or later.

Why it matters: The building plan would replace the existing YMCA/NEXT space and is being developed as a city-owned facility intended for mixed use: senior services, recreation programming, meeting rooms and a community pool. That combination raises questions about capital cost, ongoing operating responsibility, who will run the facility and whether the city should seek a bond from voters — and if so, how long the debt should run.

The two test-fit options showed similar program area totals (about 35,000 assignable square feet) and a total gross building size of roughly 50,000 square feet; differences centered on how the gym and pool are sited and whether the team reduced exterior massing by sinking the gym 16 feet to preserve neighborhood scale. Architects said sinking the gym reduces visible wall height on the Lincoln–Edgewood corner from about 36 feet to about 18 feet, which some commissioners and neighbors favored.

Pool and aquatics: The city’s aquatics consultant provided three pool…