Sandy City presents Alta Canyon rec center redesign; city staff say construction bids exceed budget by roughly $4 million

Sandy City officials on Tuesday presented updated design plans and a revised cost estimate for the Alta Canyon Recreation Center rebuild, and said recent contractor estimates place the project roughly $4 million over the approved budget.

The update came during a city council information session. Principal architect Nathan Levitt of VCBO Architecture walked council members through floor plans and renderings that keep a pool on site, add an indoor field house with turf, a gymnasium with a folding partition, a community room, fitness mezzanines and an upstairs track. Levitt said the architects and engineers were finishing construction documents for bidding and noted upcoming project milestones: the last scheduled swim at Alta Canyon is Aug. 13, the facility is set to close Aug. 16 for demolition, and staff planned a groundbreaking for Aug. 25. Levitt said the team was targeting a ribbon cutting and opening in January (date given in the presentation as "January, 20 seventh").

Why it matters: the facility serves a segment of Sandy residents and has been the subject of long-term planning and funding. Staff said the city has been working to balance resident preferences, donor contributions and construction-market realities while keeping…