North Side to get $3.4M rec center

March 12, 2008 at 12:06a.m.

The facility will allow the park and recreation department to offer after-school programming.

YOUNGSTOWN — A $3.4 million recreation center will be built this year as part of the Arlington Heights housing development off U.S. Route 422 on the North Side.

Plans for the 15,800-square-foot Arlington Heights Park and Fitness Center include an all-purpose gym, workout equipment and weights, a patio, conference rooms and a cafe. The facility is to be surrounded by an 11.5-acre park complete with basketball courts, two playgrounds, a tennis court and a picnic shelter.

The project will be paid for with a portion of the $19.75 million federal grant issued to the Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority in 2003. The grant provided for the construction of the Arlington Heights development, which will include 30 single-family homes for purchase and 75 rental units.

YMHA agreed to deed the recreation center to the city in exchange for Evans Field, which occupied a portion of property used in construction of the subsidized housing development, as well as a piece of the nearby Chase Park.

The new recreation center will allow the city’s park department to expand its scope, according to interim Park Director Jason Whitehead. The city’s only indoor recreational facility is the South High Fieldhouse, which is being sold to Eagle Heights Academy.

“The rec center will be really beautiful,” he said. “It will be a place where parks and recreation will be able to expand their programming to include after-school programming as well as programming throughout the year.”

Whitehead said he expects the project to be finished this November. Geological studies and grading work have already begun on the grounds.

City council in 2004 agreed to transfer all of Evans Field and portions of Chase Park on and near Otis Street to the YMHA for $1 for its Hope VI housing community. Part of the Westlake Terrace apartment complex was demolished to make way for Hope VI. The southern portion of Westlake Terrace, which is south of the Madison Avenue Expressway, will remain intact.

aschmitt@vindy.com