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 the project on a near-term construction schedule.

What officials told the council

Jared Adamson, vice president of Layton Construction, told the council that the design-development (DD) estimate returned at about $23.5 million, compared with the $19.5 million that the city previously programmed. "Our DD estimate ... is sitting at 23,500,000.0," Adamson said. He attributed much of the increase to post-pandemic material and market pressures, citing recent jumps in glass and steel prices and broader inflation in construction trades.

City staff and contractors said they have reviewed the design and pricing to identify cuts that preserve long-term building life-cycle value while narrowing the gap. Adamson said removing $4 million without a substantial reduction in square footage would be difficult; he said the project team planned to solicit bids from the broader subcontractor market once construction documents are complete.

Brian Kelly (staff member) told the council the city had several contingent sources that could reduce the shortfall. He said the Larry H. and Gail Miller Foundation increased its gift from an originally anticipated $1 million to $2 million; the county grant application asks for $4 million though only $3 million had been assumed in the city budget; and proceeds from the planned sale of Fire Station 301 had an appraisal a little over $4 million while the budget had counted about $2.1 million. Kelly said, combining those adjustments and existing contingency the city was roughly $75,000 short on paper and could identify further savings from interest earnings, impact fees and reallocation of unspent parks funds if needed.

Council questions and public comment

Council members pressed staff on the decision to include an indoor field house rather than a second wood-floored gym. Levitt said the field house choice grew from community conversations and from benchmarking other valley rec centers; he and staff said a turf field house can be used for winter indoor practice, boot camps and competitive rentals and can be converted to a wood floor if needed.

Council members and residents asked about pool facilities and access during the rebuild. The project team said the existing outdoor splash pad would remain and the pool will keep its footprint; the design includes new pool mechanical systems and a UV filter, and the north pool deck will be replaced. Staff said work to upgrade pool systems was included in the current construction documents but some pool aesthetic improvements would be deferred to later phases.

Several public commenters raised questions about district funding and equity. Kathy Spuck asked whether residents in the Alta Canyon special service district would continue to pay assessments while the facility is closed. Don Sidwell and Patricia Jones said they were concerned the rebuild primarily benefits parts of the city close to the facility and urged more outreach to other neighborhoods.

Next steps

City staff said construction documents would be complete by July 31 and that Layton Construction planned to solicit bidders thereafter. Staff proposed returning to the council July 29 with a formal voting item and asked council members to provide additional feedback in the coming weeks. Staff also said the project design team meets weekly with Parks & Rec staff and that council or advisory board members were welcome to attend those meetings.

Ending

Council members said they appreciated the presentation and the transparency and asked staff to supply written summaries of funding options before the July 29 meeting. The council did not vote on the project Tuesday; staff described the update as informational and scheduled to return with an action item for council consideration later in July.