Even though the county has yet to commit funding for a multigenerational community center, the county has sponsored a study to better understand the needs, opportunities and identify the feasibility and costs associated with a community center in Auburn.
The 18-month-long process culminated in November 2018, which brought together educational, governance, recreation and senior representatives from within the Auburn community.
Our team held five advisory committee meetings and three community workshops to engage stakeholders in understanding the need, viability and interest.
The study confirmed the need for a multigenerational community center as well as two options for consideration moving forward:
Concept 1 – Ground-up new construction center as part of the PCGC. Providing opportunity of a custom design and project phasing based upon available funding.
Concept 2 – Opportunity for a long-term lease arrangement with Parkside Church. Originally designed as the Parkside Community Center, this facility has never attained its full buildout and, at the time of the study was only utilized for activities a few nights during the week and Sunday mornings.
The study identified project funding scenarios including potential general obligation bonds, certificates of participation, development impact fees, private contributions, and gap funding. A local parcel tax was identified as a potential, difficult to obtain new source of revenue.
Our team also launched an online survey to gauge public interest, beyond the community workshops, to help determine a preferred concept option and possible project finance mechanism.