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Design team outlines predesign process for Maplewood Community Center; April decision targeted
Summary
LSC Architects presented a 13-week predesign schedule and community engagement plan at the Feb. 9 workshop. Consultants said the existing building is segmented and outdated, advised broad community outreach (in-person and virtual), and expect to return with priced options leading to an April 13 council decision.
Design consultants from LSC Architects gave the Maplewood City Council a predesign update on Feb. 9 and described a compressed schedule that aims to produce priced options for council consideration on April 13.
"We're already in week 4 of a 13-week process," said Christopher Labs, the project architect, outlining work on data gathering, programming and initial concept diagrams. Jennifer Anderson Tuttle, principal director for the public sector team, said the firm's early engagement emphasized the word "community"—respondents repeatedly described the facility as needing to be welcoming, connected and flexible.
Consultants summarized the building's constraints: multiple entrances and levels, segmented interior circulation, accessibility challenges and security concerns. "It felt very unwelcoming... Hot mess came up a couple times," Anderson Tuttle said, reflecting community feedback captured during surveys and leadership interviews.
The team proposed two in-person open houses plus virtual options, listening sessions at varied times, pop-up events and multilingual materials to broaden participation. They also recommended involving current users (seniors, YMCA members and youth groups) and leveraging city events for outreach. The YMCA leadership and city staff have already been consulted, the consultants said, and responses to the program-priority survey put meeting space and workout spaces near the top of the list.
Consultants said they would present preliminary concepts that will be narrowed and priced in coming weeks, and they expect to return with a full set of priced options for council decision on April 13. City staff said they will coordinate outreach and offer tools to gather feedback at community events.
The presentation did not produce a formal decision; it established a timeline and outreach approach for the next phases of the Maplewood Community Center predesign work.
