Hilliard preps for ambitious $110 million Recreation and Wellness Center
Hilliard's ground-breaking Friday morning on an ambitious recreation campus that will replace its aging community center not far away is being called one of the largest capital projects in Hilliard history.
The 10 a.m. event will celebrate the future Hilliard Recreation and Wellness Center at the Hilliard Soccer Complex, just west of Municipal Park on Scioto Darby Road. It will include speakers, a "kick of the soccer balls” and "touch-a-truck" event.
Financed in part by a 2021 voter-approved 0.5% income tax increase and debt financing, the 105,000-square-foot complex will include a gymnasium, indoor running track, fitness and weight room, aerobic dance and spin studios, classrooms, a 240-person community events room, commercial kitchen, child watch area and outdoor patio.
The aquatic facility will have a 25-meter lap pool, recreation activity pool, water slide, and spa.
And in a nod to the area's large Muslin population, a room will offer an ablution station, used by some religions for washing hands, face, arms and feet before prayer.
"We wanted to be responsive to the needs of the community," Hilliard City Manager Michelle Crandall, told The Dispatch.
A year ago, the city voted to authorize issuing bonds for the project not to exceed $95 million. The bond sales combined with tax revenue will be used to pay for the estimate $110 million complex that also includes several sports fields, some with artificial turf, on the facility's south side.
And there have been concerns as recently as late last year about cost overruns.
Read More: Budget rising for Hilliard's community recreation and wellness center
“This is one of the largest and most influential capital projects in Hilliard’s history,” said Crandall. “When residents voted to support Issue 22 (to raise the income tax to 2.5%), it was with the promise that one of the major benefits to this community would be a recreation center and more athletic fields. Breaking ground on this development is the realization of that promise,” she said.
Much like modern public libraries have become, the new facility will be a gathering space for the community.
It will allow the city to expand its recreation programming and event space, said Ed Merritt, Hilliard's recreation and parks director.
In partnership with The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, nearly 25,000 square feet of space at the facility will be dedicated to an integrated medical health and wellness center that will offer rehabilitation and physical therapy along with behavioral health and sports medicine.
Operation concerns
But one Hilliard city councilman isn't so sure that an OSU-connected center will benefit all residents.
Councilman Frank (Les) Carrier said that residents whose insurance doesn't cover treatment or therapy might be left out.
"You could go there and not be covered because your insurance is OhioHealth," he said.
Carrier also questions why an offer from the YMCA of Central Ohio to operate the pool, gym and main facility was rejected.
"What perplexed me was the raw amount of money it would save the city," he said. "I don't know why you wouldn't do that." He also thinks the facility might "cannibalize" the existing Hilliard/Ray Patch Family YMCA at 4515 Cosgray Road.
Crandall has said that the city prefers to have municipal control over its facility, even if it may cost more.
Initial operating revenues including memberships and program fees will pay for about 80% of operating costs. Community and recreation centers typically don't make money. Subsidized by city funds, they are considered amenities for residents rather than a profit generator.
dnarciso@dispatch.com
@DeanNarciso
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Hilliard preps for ambitious $110 million Recreation Center
