Breaking Ground, Building the Future
Community leaders celebrate groundbreaking for North Austin Recreation Center
From left to right: Lynn Osgood of the Parks and Recreation Board, Director ofthe Parks and Recreation Department Sara L. Hensley, Judge Cliff Brown, KellyLatz of the YMCA of Austin, Bill Dunn of JE Dunn Construction, and Linda Mooreof the NACA Task Force
For members of the surrounding North Austin community, this beautiful October morning served as the backdrop for the next step in fulfilling a collective dream nearly five years in the making.
Representatives from the City of Austin and YMCA of Austin came together to commemorate their special partnership with a groundbreaking ceremony for the North Austin Community Recreation Center. Located on a currently vacant 6.9-acre site on 1000 West Rundberg Lane, the center will bring the hope of promoting youth development, healthy living and social responsibility.
Before the groundbreaking actually took place, members of all parties involved in the project took a few moments to discuss the importance and impact that this state-of-the-art center will have on community members.
Linda Moore, representing the North Austin Civic Association Task Force, made sure to wear red in honor of the “red-letter day” that the ceremony was marking. For her, the fact that proponents of the project were able to come together and convince voters to approve the $7.9 million in the general bond election in 2006 expressed the community spirit that the center will help to foster.
Designed by Studio 8 Architects, the center will house an indoor swimming pool, gymnasium, yoga and aerobics rooms and various exercise areas. It will also provide meeting rooms, computer labs and a community lounge open to all local citizens.
She also recognized the hard work of the Task Force, whose members came together to represent the diverse needs of the equally diverse surrounding community.
Representing the YMCA of Austin, Kelly Latz told the audience of citizens about a common saying amongst the YMCA. “When you’ve seen one Y, you’ve seen one Y.” It serves as the promise that every YMCA center is as unique as the communities that they serve.
What exactly will this recreation center feature? Designed by Studio 8 Architects, the center will house an indoor swimming pool, gymnasium, yoga and aerobics rooms and various exercise areas. It will also provide meeting rooms, computer labs and a community lounge open to all local citizens. The site itself also serves as the perfect link between the Little Walnut Creek Library and Quail Creek Park.
Soon to be under construction by JE Dunn Construction, the center will also promote environmental sustainability, with recycled building material contents, high efficiency lighting, heating, cooling and plumbing fixtures, and a white solar reflective roof surface.
As an added bonus and highlight, the recreation center will serve as the home of a community garden that will be tended by the local community. Selected artists will work with the public to design the estimated 10,000 square foot garden that will serve as a gathering place and yield fresh produce for the community.
Today’s ceremony served as the next step in turning the community’s dream into a reality. Construction is expected to be completed by September 2012, which can’t come soon enough for excited citizens.
