Riverside unveils community center rendering

After lengthy discussion — not all of it directly related to the rendering — the Riverside City Council has settled on concept art for a planned community center.

City Clerk Becky LaRoche said the rendering was a pivotal step forward for the project.

“This is the rendering they would need to go for funding grants,” LaRoche said. “If we were going to go for grants … you have to have an idea, a concept, to say ‘This is what we are planning to do, this is what we guess it’s going to cost, and this is what we’re asking for funding.’”

LaRoche said development of the facility was a long way out, with construction slated to begin March 2023 and end a year later.

Although the council made no formal motion, LaRoche said council members agreed to the rough ideas laid out in the rendering and outlined points for future discussion.

“There was no voting, there was a lot of questions brought up,” she said. “They decided they needed to go forward with Carl A. Nelson and get them to a work session so they could answer questions.”

LaRoche said the city had not yet determined a date for that work session with the construction management company.

Some of those lingering questions include operation costs for the building, who would manage it and what membership fees would cost.

“It’s all kinds of details that there’s no way to come up with until you go step by step,” LaRoche said.

Still, the rendering packet gives direction to several key aspects of the project, even if the city hasn’t formally committed to anything yet.

For one, the new building would cost roughly $7.41 million to plan, construct and furnish. Adding child care facilities would tack on another $2.29 million, according to estimates from Carl A. Nelson.

For another, the concept art envisions a modern design, with a running track over an open gymnasium. The packet shows plans to include an exercise studio on the top floor, and a weight room and a meeting room, among others, on the ground floor with the two-court open gymnasium.

LaRoche said the location was tentatively set for city-owned land on the north side of Galileo Drive which would set up access from the nearby elementary school, though some officials involved in the project still advocate for a more central downtown location.