One project to expand indoor recreation in Bellingham is progressing with the selection of a site plan for the Civic Athletic Complex redesign.
The plan could include a new elementary school to be built at the corner of Fraser and Puget streets and space for a future community recreation center.
City staff announced Thursday, Dec. 19 on Engage Bellingham that Option 1 was chosen, a “clear favorite” of the four options the city presented to the public earlier this year.
This option relocates Carl Cozier Elementary School to the northeast end of the complex and leaves space for expanded or new community recreation facilities at the current site of Carl Cozier at Lincoln Street and Lakeway Drive.
Also outlined are plans for an “interpretive wetland park,” and new multi-use fields for baseball, softball, soccer and rugby. There is also space to expand the Sportsplex with more sheets of ice and/or indoor soccer fields.
Staff will develop a site plan based on this option and present a full master plan to the public in 2025.
Located in the Puget neighborhood, the current complex houses many of the city’s recreational facilities, including the Arne Hanna Aquatics Center and the Sportsplex. In November, city staff presented the public with four options for redevelopment.
The City of Bellingham and Bellingham Public Schools are developing a formal agreement for the sale of the property. The school district’s plans would build the new Carl Cozier, and then use the current Carl Cozier as a “swing space” to host students from Columbia and Roosevelt while those schools are being rebuilt over the next several years.
Ideas for a community recreation center remain conceptual, but city staff said they will be seeking “more community input on needs, ideas and preferences” for that project.
“We are also creating a business plan, which includes studying ways to fund the construction and ongoing program costs to build, staff, and maintain a new facility,” staff said on Engage Bellingham.
Bellingham is one of at least three groups endeavoring to increase access to indoor recreation in Bellingham. CDN recently published a series on indoor recreation, exploring how other cities have funded and built successful community centers.
Charlotte Alden is CDN’s general assignment/enterprise reporter; reach her at charlottealden@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 123.
