1000 x 90

Watauga Recreation Center Groundbreaking Set For October 16; See Video of What the Rec Center Will Look Like

By Nathan Ham

The groundbreaking ceremony for the new Watauga County Recreation Center will be happening on Tuesday, October 16 at 3 p.m. The ceremony will be happening at the corner of Hunting Hills Lane and State Farm Road where the new rec center will be constructed. 

The new recreation center will be constructed at the old Lowes building at the intersection of State Farm Road and Hunting Hills Lane. The center will include a gym with four multi-use courts, a track, a competition swimming pool, a leisure pool and multi-purpose rooms for exercise and fitness classes as well as parties and other social gatherings.

The current building, which had been used most recently as Appalachian State University’s Business Affairs Annex, will be demolished.

On September 18, Watauga County Commissioners received an update on the financial status of the project. According to Chad Roberson, an architect with Clark Nexsen, the Guaranteed Maximum Price (GMP) for the construction of the project is $32,937,626 with a total project budget of $38,547,395. The budget total will include other costs not associated with the construction, including fees, survey costs, technology and equipment as well as furniture and fixtures.

The facility is scheduled to be completed in March of 2020 and construction is scheduled to take 391 days to complete.

Below is a video rendering from Clark Nexsen showing what the new recreation center will look like.