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City park design revised after value‑engineering; council direction preserves core amenities
Summary
City staff and design firm Rios presented 30% designs for the City Park project showing value‑engineering changes that reduce building circulation and hardscape, expand the gymnasium to two full courts and move the splash pad to a central location; staff said design completion is expected in October with construction bidding to follow.
City parks planners and the project design team presented an updated 30% design for the new City Park and community center, explaining changes made after council and commission direction on value engineering.
Miss Finch, the city project lead, said the design incorporates council direction to reduce some interior and exterior finishes and to trade certain hardscape elements for turf and softer landscape features while preserving the park’s primary functions. "We reduced the size of the fitness center and group fitness room by about 10 percent, removed the spin room, reduced interior plaster walls and exterior glazing, and replaced some hardscape seating with softscape and turf," Finch said. She added that the team increased efficiency in the building footprint and cut circulation area by roughly 3,000 square feet to improve overall layout.
Finch told commissioners the revised building will be roughly 58,749 square feet after value engineering and that programmable space decreased by 14 percent while the gymnasium increased by about 45 percent to provide two full‑sized basketball courts. On the park layout, designers removed one outdoor sports court to expand the skate park and pump track and relocated and enlarged the splash pad to the park’s center; the promenade between playground and splash pad is designed to be food‑truck–capable and the community canvas will be a turf‑based assembly space for concerts and co‑sponsored events.
Renderings showed a more natural park setting with less hardscape, and Finch said the change is intended to increase year‑round use and create a flexible large‑event space. She said the 30% construction drawings were completed in January and scheduled the remainder of design through September, with final design expected in October, bidding that month and contract award before year end. "We anticipate mobilization at the start of 2026 and hope to begin construction in spring 2026 with a roughly two‑year timeline," Finch said.
Commissioners asked about the removal of an outdoor court, parking impacts and how the community canvas and crown element will be expressed with lighting and furnishings; staff responded that the net amount of basketball playing court area increases because of the new indoor court and that the team plans wayfinding, interpretive and informational signs for trails connecting to Cleveland National Forest. Several commissioners suggested adding visual banding or other design details to break up broad concrete walkways and to prioritize seating and shaded, year‑round uses around the community center.
Finch said the design team will return with final drawings prior to planning commission review and that the project will go through the city’s standard permitting, bidding and construction phases.
Ending: Staff asked the commission to receive and file the update and invited technical questions from the design team; the commission’s next major review will come when design is final in October.
