Designers present refined schematic design for community health and wellness center; council told event space reduced and senior services transition planned

City staff and the HGA design team presented a 100% schematic design update for Bloomington’s Community Health and Wellness Center, described continued emphasis on sustainability and operational cost recovery, and detailed an interim plan for senior programming while Creekside is closed for construction.

Leah Hughes, deputy director of Parks and Recreation, told the council the design team has trimmed the project footprint during schematic design but has not removed core program spaces; the presentation emphasized flexibility and multiuse rooms to maximize revenue potential and reach a pro‑forma target staff described as a 90% cost‑recovery goal and at least 70% daily use capacity. Hughes said the design continues to include sustainable elements such as geothermal and rooftop photovoltaics, but staff are monitoring tariff changes and potential reductions in federal Inflation Reduction Act funding — impacts Hughes estimated could be “millions of dollars,” and staff later cited a possible IRA funding reduction in the range of $5–8 million.

Architects from HGA outlined the site plan and floor plans: a north fitness bar, aquatics on the west, a gym and track, and multipurpose community rooms on the south side of the building. The lobby will include space to display and sell resident‑made items; locker rooms will include both gender‑assigned and gender‑inclusive options. Renderings showed native landscaping with on‑site stormwater infiltration and a forecourt entry plaza designed for drop‑off and outdoor programming.

Hughes and HGA confirmed one tangible programmatic change under review: the planned event/banquet space, originally sized to accommodate roughly 200–250 attendees, would need about 1,500 additional square feet to reach that capacity and has been reduced to an estimated capacity of about 144 seats as the project footprint shrank. Staff said they continue to study ways to increase capacity while preserving other program spaces and cost‑recovery goals.

Hughes gave a detailed update on senior programming and the plan for transition when Creekside closes June 1. Two interim locations will host most programs: Bloomington Center for the Arts and Logan Lodge (the latter to contain four programmable rooms). Furniture, equipment and supplies will be moved to temporary sites between June 2 and June 14; spring programs will conclude at Creekside in May and summer programs will resume at the interim locations on June 16. Staff said about 95% of current programs will be relocated; single‑use activities present the biggest temporary challenge. The wood shop has been relocated by agreement to Eden Prairie Senior Center; the boutique will operate in a mobile display unit initially at Bloomington Civic Plaza before returning to the future center’s lobby; billiards, ping‑pong and lapidary programs are still being worked through and staff expect updates on temporary locations.

Council members asked about future expansion opportunities and how the project will record items cut in schematic design for potential return in later phases. HGA and staff said they were keeping a formal list of deferred items — examples discussed included a third gymnasium, a larger event space and a larger running track — and that the project will lock scope at guaranteed maximum price (GMP) during design development; the council will receive a definitive list of what “made the cut” at that GMP milestone.

The project budget figure presented in the briefing was $101.8 million; staff said they are designing to that budget and will provide updated cost estimates with the 50% design development documents in May. The next steps are continued stakeholder engagement, issuance of 50% design documents in May, an updated cost estimate in early June, and a June presentation of cost and design development materials to Park and Recreation and the council.