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Cathedral City staff outline feasibility study, narrow sites and budget limits for proposed community center
Summary
City staff presented findings from a feasibility study showing several candidate sites for a community center, limited Measure W capital expected to cover 10,000–14,000 sq ft on city-owned land, and a schedule that will bring site recommendations to council in January and final results in February 2026.
Victor Gomez, administrative analyst in the city manager's office, presented an update on Cathedral City's community center feasibility study, outlining site options, community input and budget constraints.
Gomez said the study, led by Group 4 Architecture, is reviewing demand, potential locations and whether to reuse existing buildings or construct new facilities. He told commissioners Measure W, approved in November 2024, will generate about $5 million annually beginning April 2025 and that current projections set aside $1 million a year for operations and $1 million a year for debt service.
That debt-service projection, Gomez said, would support about $13 million in capital on a 20-year schedule. "If you look at what that $13,000,000 in capital'... construction plus renovation at a City owned site might be able to get the city 10,000 to 14,000 square feet," he said, noting acquisitions or land leases would reduce the feasible size of a center.
The study maps nine candidate sites against population density and a matrix of evaluation criteria, Gomez said. City-owned contenders identified as early leaders include the library site, the site across from the Salvation Army and a five-acre parcel near the senior center. Non-city-owned options flagged for evaluation include the vacant former Walmart and the former Burlington building.
Gomez described the master-planning stage as early in the process. "We're in the master planning phase and it'll be many years until the community center is actually built out," he said, and outlined subsequent steps: design with conceptual drawings and construction documents, then bidding and construction.
He summarized community outreach and data: two online survey rounds (about 1,000 and about 900 participants), in-person outreach at the library, senior center, Boys & Girls Club and local schools, and stakeholder meetings including the school district and tribal representatives. Common themes were bilingual, multi-generational programming; flexible multiuse spaces; desert-informed sustainable design; and resiliency functions such as a cooling or emergency distribution center.
Gomez presented benchmark planning figures used in the study (for context, national averages and Pacific Southwest comparisons) and offered rough facility-size ranges: a full-service community/senior center at about 20,000–35,000 sq ft and a combined community-and-recreation center at about 30,000–45,000 sq ft, with a phased approach more likely than a single full build-out.
On potential retail conversions, staff reported market constraints. A prior broker effort on the Walmart site did not advance after asking-price and valuation issues, and staff said leasing or retrofitting large retail buildings carries significant cost and code-compliance considerations.
Gomez said the project team will develop program, site and phasing diagrams, cost models with Finance, and hold technical meetings with planners and engineers; staff plans to present recommended sites to council at the last January meeting with final recommendations in February 2026. The commission was told Item A was for discussion only and no formal action was taken.
