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Originally published in Athletic Business

Architecture for Metro District Recreation Facilities

Sundance Hills Metropolitan District upgraded the parks, clubhouse, tennis facilities, and pool area at Sundance Hills Swim and Tennis Club, aiming to extend the pool’s life by 10 to 25 years. The entry was redesigned for efficient visitor service, and the three pools were resurfaced with new plaster and waterline tile. Skimmers and starting blocks were replaced, and a stair entry was added to the dive pool.

Pool Renovation Elements

A new wading pool with ADA access, a play structure, and water jets were constructed. The aquatic features include a new 750-square-foot wading pool with zero-depth entry and a stair entry. The 1,350-square-foot-dive pool has six 250-yard lanes and a stair entry. The 1,350-square-foot dive pool features renovated 1- and 3-meter boards. Renovations also include new mechanical equipment, ADA lifts, and safety systems.

Updated Pool Functionality and Aesthetics

Despite budget constraints, the team delivered a high-quality renovation by incorporating features such as “add alternatives” and streamlining submittals. These upgrades enhance the facility’s functionality and aesthetic appeal, reflecting the district’s commitment to providing an exceptional recreational environment.

Essenza Architecture is thrilled to announce that the Westminster Swim & Fitness Center, operated by the City of Westminster’s Parks, Recreation and Libraries, has been honored with the 2024 Columbine Award for Renovated Facility Design by the Colorado Parks and Recreation Association (CPRA)! The Columbine Awards recognize outstanding achievements in parks and recreation throughout the state; CPRA presents the awards at the annual association conference and trade show, which took place in Keystone this year.

Recreation Center Renovation - Modern, Accessible, Welcoming

Over the past 3.5 years, a dedicated team of City staff, Essenza Architecture, and Mark Young Construction, along with the community’s support, have transformed the Westminster Swim & Fitness Center into a modern, accessible, and welcoming space. This award is a testament to the vision, dedication, and collaboration of everyone involved in the renovation project, including the local residents who will benefit from this revitalized facility.

The Westminster Swim & Fitness Center has provided residents a dedicated place for swimming, recreation, and community-building. After almost five decades of service, the City undertook a $6 million renovation to improve accessibility, guest and staff safety, programming opportunities, and overall efficiency. A grand re-opening celebration in mid-September welcomed guests to the City of Westminster’s refreshed community center.

The City of Westminster, Construction Projects Specialist Dana Kester; Kira Kloser, Recreation Facilities Superintendent; and Deb Larson, Recreation Supervisor, worked with the Essenza Architecture team to vet the best plan to meet their budget, schedule, and goals. “Throughout the project, the team demonstrated an unwavering dedication to working within our budget and offering creative and practical designs.” Dana Kester, Facilities & Projects Coordinator, City of Westminster.

Recreation Center Design and Construction Elements

Teamwork was the key to the success of this project. The City of Westminster, Essenza Architecture, and Mark Young Construction worked closely to develop solutions during design and construction that were the most cost-effective and produced the best results for the project. The fully redesigned facility offers many new features: weight rooms and cardio areas, a community room, athletic flooring, improved lighting and daylighting, and new finishes with a modern design. All new cardio, free weights, functional training, and selectorized equipment with new rubber athletic flooring provide excellent training spaces.

Old railings were replaced with all-new cable railings that provide open views to the pool and other levels, which patrons can enjoy from the cardio fitness floor. Previously, underutilized spaces were redesigned to maximize programming areas and improve circulation. The racquetball courts were replaced with weight areas and include all new finishes, acoustic panels, artificial LEDs, and natural light, creating open and energizing spaces for increased fitness offerings. A second-floor infill provides dedicated meeting space with a kitchenette for on-site meetings, team events, and public rentals. A new training/meeting room with color changing and white lights provides a flexible space for many different event types and offers a unique view that overlooks the pool.

The new design improves access by relocating the lobby to the main level and adding automatic sliding doors to the north and south parking lots. The expanded lobby includes a new front desk and control space adjacent to an open area with seating for gatherings, card playing, and other activities. A new elevator provides access to all floors, increasing service delivery equity.

“Bringing this facility back to its full potential and creating more program spaces was such a rewarding experience. Working with the Parks and Recreation and facilities staff early on in a master plan exercise allowed us to maximize opportunities, like moving the entry to the main floor, creating open fitness spaces, and adding the second-floor community room. Our teamwork with the City of Westminster and the CMGC team at Mark Young Construction allowed us to tackle problem-solving in a positive way.” Christa Plaza, President Essenza Architecture.

• Architect: Essenza Architecture

• Construction: Mark Young Construction

• Landscape Architect: Norris Design

• Civil Engineers: MPD Engineering

• Mechanical and Plumbing Engineers: The Ballard Group

• Electrical Engineers: AE Design Group

• Structural Engineers: Martin|Martin Engineering

• Fitness Equipment: FitLogistix

Thank you, Colorado Parks and Recreation (CPRA), for a fantastic conference and tradeshow! So many laughs, so many connections! A few of our favorite moments:

1. City of Westminster Swim and Fitness Center receiving the Columbine Award for Facility Design Renovation!
2. Lafayette break dancing!
3. Connecting with clients and colleagues with a pop-up bar by the fire in the hotel lobby.
4. Schmoozapalooza
5. The first snow fall

Essenza Architecture is a sponsor of the CPRA annual conference and is dedicated to supporting recreational professionals who provide quality of life to communities across Colorado. CPRA was established in 1951 as the trade association for parks and recreation professionals in Colorado. CPRA has been providing continuing education, professional networking and resources since that time.

Located in the heart of downtown Mead, Colorado, the site of the former pinto bean processing plant dating back to the 1920s is now the location for the Town of Mead’s new 11,500-square-foot Community Center. Essenza Architecture is leading the design and working with Norris Design, providing landscape architecture and placemaking elements.

Architecture for Flexible Community Space

The Center is near the Mead Town Hall and Town Park, adding to the centralized civic area. The building siting and overall site layout reflect the entry location and axis of the historic buildings. Center programming includes a full-size cross-court gymnasium, a flexible multipurpose room, rentable patio space for community events, and dedicated staff offices. The site design supports indoor-outdoor leisure and community programming, including a splash pad/event plaza, seating areas, a rentable patio, walking paths, and a native landscape.

Preserving History in Community Spaces

The new building will incorporate remnant components of the historic bean plant to commemorate its agricultural history, including a large conveyor converted to a light pole and gateway structure and grain bins converted to planters. A custom logo inspired by the Bean Plan has been developed and will be featured throughout the signature site elements on sandblasted stone blocks, planter pots, and signage design.

Construction will begin in the summer of 2024, and in the summer of 2025, the Town of Mead will celebrate the opening of the highly anticipated Center. Impact Fees, a one-time fee imposed by the Town on new development projects, were used to purchase the former bean plant. The collective team conducted a significant community engagement effort to help identify priorities.

Scott Carpenter Park and Pool is a community park located in Boulder, Colorado, that provides a wide variety of recreational facilities, including swimming pools, a skate park, an open turf field, diamond fields, and a space-themed playground in honor of the park’s namesake, astronaut, and aquanaut Scott Carpenter, a former Boulder resident. Over the past several years, the pool facilities
have undergone a major renovation and transformation that represents what was desired most by the community, user groups, and stakeholders. The design team was tasked with creating an iconic, state-of-the-art facility that promotes inclusiveness, accessibility, sustainability, and durability while honoring and nurturing the existing mature trees and established an astronaut theme. We transformed and repurposed the existing building into a low-maintenance, durable facility with a warm mountain feel that reflects the Flatiron formations in the foothills of Boulder.

The renovated facility opened in the summer of 2020 and included a new 50-meter outdoor pool, a double waterslide tower, an 8,000 square foot recreation pool that includes a diving board, jumping platform, drop slide, climbing wall, lazy river, zero depth entry, and an outer-space themed water play feature. In addition to the pools, there is a 2,000-square-foot splash pad featuring a 20-foot-tall rocket ship that ties back to the existing historic rocket ship playground feature. Colorado has only a handful of outdoor 50-meter pools, and this feature certainly makes Scott Carpenter Park a destination for competitive swimmers. The additional fun water amenities provide engaging activities for people of all ages. The heavily renovated bathhouse features durable materials alongside the existing preserved historic brick, an accessible design for all ages, and an undulating curved blue roof mimicking water waves to welcome visitors.

Outdoor design features include shade structures that are scattered throughout the deck in wave-like forms to provide much-needed cover from the Colorado sun. Shower towers are outside each locker room to encourage rinsing off before jumping into the pools. Low retaining walls and grass landscaping are provided in the patron lounging area. The facility offers ample bicycle parking and enlarges paths on all sides of the property, encouraging multi-modal transportation and accommodating increased traffic, an important goal for Boulder.

During COVID, the City of Boulder Parks and Recreation team has been adapting the use of the facility in innovative ways. The 50-meter pool is being used in the 25-meter direction so that more individual lanes are open, and swimmers can be socially distanced, allowing the facility to stay open. At other times of the day, the 50-meter pool is sectioned off into pods where families can swim together.

After several years of design collaboration and community outreach aimed to meet the community’s aquatic and park needs, the renovated facility is a top recreation destination for the City of Boulder and surrounding communities.