Sterling Heights approves $10 million pickleball and table‑tennis center at Van Dyke

Sterling Heights — The City Council on Tuesday approved a package of agreements that will turn a vacant commercial building at 35630 Van Dyke into a municipally owned indoor pickleball and table‑tennis facility, advancing a centerpiece project funded by the voter‑approved parks and recreation millage.

In a 6–1 vote, council authorized a $2,500,000 purchase of the property from Marketplace C3 LLC and approved an AIA form owner/design‑builder agreement with Cunningham Limp with a guaranteed maximum construction price of $9,700,000. City officials said adding $300,000 for furniture, fixtures and equipment keeps the total project cost at the $10,000,000 figure the city included in millage materials.

“We believe this is the best use of the funds to deliver a turnkey facility quickly and within budget,” Parks and Recreation Director Kyle Langloy said during the presentation. Langloy described a program that will renovate roughly 33,000 square feet for public use while retaining some space for storage, add 247 dedicated parking spaces, and preserve about 1 acre of green space on the site.

The planned interior will include nine regulation pickleball courts, six official table‑tennis tables, locker rooms, a nursing mothers’ room and a meeting/party room available for rentals, Langloy said. Officials said regular drop‑in play will be free for Sterling Heights residents; nonresident daily drop‑in fees are expected to mirror other city facilities (about $5 per day).

Sam Ashley, president of Cunningham Limp, described the construction contract as a guaranteed‑maximum‑price agreement and said the design‑builder assumes the risk for cost overages: “Whatever that set number is, we’re taking the risk for any overages to it. In the event there are savings, all those dollars go back to the city,” Ashley said.

The project team presented a cost comparison showing renovation costs below a new‑build scenario. Langloy said comparable new construction would likely exceed $11 million just for the building shell, while the renovation approach keeps the entire project inside the $10 million millage allocation and shortens the delivery schedule to open mid‑2026.

Not all speakers supported the plan. Several residents questioned the procurement process and site selection. Paul Smith argued the project amounts to a subsidy to a private property owner and questioned whether private industry should have built the facility. “Pickleball is just a rationalization for a money pipe to a crony property owner,” Smith said. Another resident, Ken Nelson, asked whether the purchase included all parking and whether the city had shopped the market widely.

City Manager Mark Vanderpool and Langloy responded that staff evaluated available properties after the millage passed in 2024, that this site was one of very few matching the city’s size, location and parking priorities, and that the simultaneous closing and design‑build approach produced savings and speed. Vanderpool said the city sought three parcels to secure parking and green space and that staff negotiated the package with legal and financial review.

Council members pressed for operational details during debate, including staffing, fees, winter maintenance, accessibility and event programming. Langloy said staffing and a pro forma operating budget are in development and that the facility will be run under the parks and recreation department’s operational model used elsewhere in the city.

Next steps: execution of the purchase and design‑build agreements, site closing, final design, community listening session (planned for Sept. 30 at the community center) and anticipated grand opening in mid‑2026 if the schedule holds. The motion authorizing the purchase, the AIA owner/design‑builder agreement, and signature authority for closing documents passed 6–1.