The cost of Crossville’s indoor recreation and aquatic center continues to decrease as plans are finalized, the project’s architects said last week.
“The latest numbers are coming out to $38,338,000,” said Kevin Chamberlin of Upland Design Group. “We’re working our way down, hoping to keep pushing that number down.”
He told the Crossville Sports Authority he’s confident in the estimates provided by the contractor, American Constructors of Brentwood.
“We’re getting updated numbers from people in the field,” he said. “They’re plugged into what these numbers are doing on a regular basis.”
Early estimates put the project as high as $65 million. That number has fallen throughout the years of discussion to the $40 million put before of the Sports Authority when it was formed earlier this year.
Chamberlin gave Sports Authority members a rundown on the facility plans, showing images and floor plans for the three-story center and its amenities. A natural slope of the site at Livingston Rd. and N. Main St. lends itself to the construction of the competition-size indoor pool, which will be 3 1/2 to 7 feet deep and includes an instructional area.
He said Crab Orchard stone will be used intentionally and sparingly on the exterior. Vegetation and a greenspace can incorporate an outdoor trail that can be expanded to become part of a trail network connecting Obed River Park to the Crossville Depot downtown.
Chamberlin is gathering input from Mandy Perhay, CEO of the Putnam County YMCA, on features that are popular at the Cookeville center, such as a community hall and large welcome space, as well as a small sauna space.
Other features will include a large classroom, a child-care area, two flexible spaces that can be converted into classrooms or workout areas, a large gymnasium suitable for YMCA or recreational league sports, and a locker room.
The upper level features a large workout and fitness space and a track overlooking the pool area.
“We have all of our engineers and consultants working hard on this project,” Chamberlin said. He and his father, Upland principal architect Kim Chamberlin, said 30-40 people are actively working on the project that they look to have wrapped up by late September or early October.
The Sports Authority is charged with raising funds and construction of the facility, which will be leased and operated by the Putnam County YMCA. Kidwell & Associates of Nashville was retained last month as the bond agent to raise funding for the center, which city officials insist will not be built or dependent on property tax revenues.
The YMCA is also planning a $10 million capital campaign to solicit funding for construction, staffing and operating expenses for three years. That’s when it’s been estimated that the center will become self-sustaining.
Sports Authority members named Rob Patton as the body’s designee or point person in making decisions with attorneys and others involved in the process of construction. All decisions by the designee are subject to Sports Authority approval and will be brought before the body before becoming official.
Patton was to meet Wednesday with key personnel in the Cookeville office of Randy York, Sports Authority attorney, for the drafting of legal documents, including the operating agreement between the Sports Authority and the YMCA.