PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — With more than 100 people in attendance, community members joined local, state and federal officials to break ground Friday on a $7.5 million Presque Isle Community Center, which many feel will quickly become the heart of the city once construction is completed next year.
“It was wonderful to see everyone there and to see this come to fruition,” Kimberly Smith, grant writer for the city of Presque Isle, said Monday. “It took a lot of people to make this happen, so it was nice to see such a large turnout.”
The groundbreaking took place on the actual construction site located at the intersection of Chapman Road and Riverside Drive in downtown Presque Isle.
The new center will be paid for using both public and private funds. Presque Isle voters in 2012 approved a $7.5 million bond for the community center project, but construction could not begin until the campaign committee raised $3.7 million in matching donations. Smith said Monday that the Presque Isle Community Center Committee now has raised $3.8 million.
The center will be located on 8 acres on Chapman Street, a site that was selected because of its proximity to downtown, the bicycle path and Riverside Park, which is where the recreation department runs its soccer program. Plans call for a 30,000-square-foot, single-story facility that will feature a walking track, gymnasium, locker rooms, meeting rooms, space for citizen groups and other amenities. It also will include an outdoor pool and splash pad.
It will replace The William V. Haskell Community Center, which was built in the early 1940s as a United Service Organization.
City officials have said the three roofs on the current center are leaking, floor joists are beginning to rot, the electrical service is outdated, asbestos is in the walls and ceiling panels, and the chimney is cracked and breaking up, among other problems.
“When I started with the city in 2010, the community center project had stalled and many considered it nothing more than a dream,” said City Manager Jim Bennett. “I am very proud of the hard work of so many that contributed to making this a reality.”
Smith said that the only changes to the original conceptual plans will be that the building will have one multipurpose room instead of two, a move taken to reduce the overall construction costs.
The expected completion date is in the fall of 2016.