Garden City gym complex one of the largest recreation investments city will make in years

Resident Donna Williams remembers when the Garden City gymnasium was in its heyday decades ago. As a youth she attended skate nights at the facility and remembers people rollerblading across the basketball court's shiny hardwood floors.

"It's almost as if we were on the cutting edge because you could skate here. ... Some of the other municipalities back in the day would come and admire our gym, but then we kind of got left behind," Williams said.

Today, that same gym is part of the Garden City Recreation Department complex that sits behind the now-under-construction Groves K-12 school site off Georgia 21. The rec facility was built in the 1960s and is "leaking, rusty and has holes," according to Cliff Ducey, the city's parks and recreation director.

Replacing the complex is a priority for Garden City, and plans are in the listening stage, with Ducey hosting public input meetings, such as one Williams recently attended. The new rec complex is "10 years overdue," said Mayor Don Bethune, and will be one of the largest investments in recreation the city has made in years.

First City Progress: Garden City seeks to build affordable housing at former school site

Planning for success

According to Bethune, the city was in a wait-and-see period as the Savannah-Chatham County Public School System (SCCPSS) deliberated on purchasing the center as part of the Groves project. In the meantime, city officials identified potential revenue sources to fund a new rec center.

Cost projections won't be available until next year, said Bethune, but rough estimates put the price at around $5 million to $6 million. Garden City has funding from municipal property tax revenues and may also seek federal and state funding.

Site concepts for the new complex show a new gym building with a community center attached as well as an outdoor sports court, a splash pad, an expanded outdoor pool, a picnic pavilion and a playground.

The community center would be a huge benefit, said Williams, who helped form the new Garden City Neighborhood Association. Currently, large community meetings are held in the outdated gymnasium.

"The community is excited about the opportunity to finally have this recreation center done over. I know the young people who I've talked to, they're excited as well," said Williams.

Uses to go beyond recreation

Resident Kely Holt, who recently moved to the area from Atlanta, said she's attended every public input meeting for the rec center so far. The city has hosted five public input meetings and will host an open house on Dec. 20 for residents to give suggestions on renderings of three proposed designs.

"I want to see something for the children, something for the kids," said Holt, who said her family was involved in funding homeless shelters and youth centers in Atlanta. "It all starts with the children."

'Wish we had more choices': Garden City council candidates must address livability issues

Williams said she hopes the city will implement educational programming at the new rec center and offer programs such as tutoring services.

"We can't just build another gym; we need more than that," she said.

Both Williams and Holt, along with other residents who attended the public meetings, envision the center to be a community hub with the potential to give the younger generation "something to stimulate the kid's minds." Such amenities would give parents peace of mind as well, the two said.

After gathering and applying public input to the renderings, CHA Companies, an engineering consulting firm that focuses on civil design work, will present the master plan to council in January.

"If council approves the master plan, depending on funding availability, we will prepare design plans for construction," said Patrick Graham, vice president of CHA.

The complex itself will take about a year to build, according to Bethune.

Residents can provide their input on the rec center designs through the online survey available on Garden City's website.

Nancy Guan is the general assignment reporter covering Chatham County municipalities. Reach her at nguan@gannett.com or on Twitter @nancyguann.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Garden City gym complex among largest recreation investments