Erie presents conceptual plan to expand and renovate community center; consultants give approximate $14.5M estimate

Town staff and consultants presented conceptual designs and high‑level cost estimates on Jan. 20 as part of a predesign study for an expansion and renovation of the Erie Community Center (ECC).

Chad, a staff project lead, told the council the study—begun in July 2025 and grounded in the town’s 2020–21 facilities master plan and the 2024 Parks & Recreation “playbook”—was intended to move the ECC from planning into implementation. Du Boingo, identified in the presentation as director of Parks and Recreation, said growth in participation has created a sustained capacity problem: staff reported nearly 1,500 people on program waitlists in 2025 and dozens of rentals turned away.

Jordan Lochner, founding principal of Collab Architects, said Collab approached the work in three phases—discovery, vision development and concept design—and emphasized the importance of due diligence: “there’s no substitute for due diligence,” he said, describing site and easement constraints that limited expansion geometry and shaped the recommended options.

The concepts presented split into two broad packages. The first, described as the "targeted expansion and renovation," focuses on meeting and rental spaces on the northern (A‑side) portion of the building, reconfiguring existing rooms, enlarging youth areas and improving circulation and staff workspaces. Collab estimated that package at an opinion‑of‑probable cost of about $14.5 million (turnkey, conceptual). The second option adds a new gymnasium and expanded fitness area; consultants discussed an estimate near $12.5 million for the gym/fitness buildout when shown as a separate scenario. Staff emphasized all figures were high‑level, conceptual and include escalations to mid‑2028 and non‑construction costs (design, fees, equipment).

Collab walked council through programmatic tradeoffs: by re‑locating the Columbine Lounge and subdividing mini‑minors the team said they could keep some public drop‑in play space available while preserving a staffed kids station; other surgical changes were proposed to create roughly 7,000 sq ft of net additional program/staff/meeting area across the combined targeted renovations. The design team cautioned that vertical expansion (adding a full extra story) would be structurally complex and costly given large gym and pool spans, and that some potential expansion zones are constrained by a PUD‑established buffer/easement unless the council chooses to modify the PUD.

Council members pressed staff on tradeoffs, timing and phasing. Some members urged moving ahead quickly with design so that a concrete ballot ask could be prepared for 2026; others said the ECC expansion alone will not meet long‑term recreational needs and urged waiting for poll results about a proposed second community campus before committing to a specific scope. Multiple councilors and staff recommended polling voters to determine appetite for an ECC bond or a broader facilities package.

Staff asked for direction to return with professional services agreements: a smaller design package estimated around $920,000 for the targeted expansion/renovation and a larger package that includes the gym/fitness expansion estimated around $1.7 million for full design; no formal motion or vote was taken during the study session. The presentation closed with staff asking council whether to pursue design work and concurrent polling; the council later directed staff to pursue polling (see separate coverage of ballot planning). Council members repeatedly emphasized the conceptual nature of the numbers and asked staff to sharpen estimates as the design moves from predesign to construction documents.

What happens next: staff will return with more refined scopes and cost estimates if council directs them to proceed; any capital financing would require voter approval and further council action.