Planned recreation center may grow in size, cost

The future North Las Vegas Recreation Center could more than double in size -- and swell in cost -- under a proposal going before the City Council in two weeks.

Director Eric Dabney told the Park and Recreation Board Tuesday that he will recommend on April 5 that the council approve a professional services agreement with HSA Architects for $414,000 to design the facility.

HSA Architects designed the Black Mountain Recreation Center in Henderson, which the North Las Vegas center will be modeled after.

Originally the center was going to be drafted after the Desert Breeze Recreation Center, 8275 Spring Mountain Road, using its specs and architect, Lucchesi Galati Architects Inc. But council members determined last month that the Black Mountain concept, with a few modifications, would better suit the needs of North Las Vegas residents.

Dabney said he thinks the council will approve the agreement, even with two major changes.

If the city chooses to go with HSA Architects, the size of the facility, which was conceived as a 22,000-square-foot center, will grow to 41,000 square feet to follow the new set of plans.

With the increase in size comes an increase in the original $5 million set aside for the project. Dabney said the $5 million will only take care of the architect fees and construction costs but will not pay for a swimming pool, offsite improvements, landscaping or parking.

He estimated it will cost an additional $2.8 million to complete the entire project.

"The City Council will commit (the funds). We just don't know where it is going to come from, but we can budget for it," Dabney said, adding that the excess could come from the city's general fund or from an intergovernmental loan. The Parks and Recreation Department will also budget for the funds in the next fiscal year.

Dabney said it should take 20 months from the time the agreement is signed for the plans to be drafted and completed.

The center at Alexander Road and Allen Lane is still set to open by January 2002, although it is unclear whether the pool will be built by that time or during a second phase.

"We want the center to be the best, most user-friendly facility that is in the Las Vegas Valley," Chairman Dean Leavitt said.

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