Riversiders who wish there was available gym space in town may want to keep their eye on the horizon.
Village trustees directed Williams Architects, the firm overseeing the village’s project to build new public safety offices, to include a community gymnasium in the plan in response to feedback from a survey of residents on parks and recreation programming.
At their Oct. 3 meeting, trustees heard an update on the project from Andrew Dogan, a managing principal at Williams, in the wake of their decision to build a new structure for the police and fire departments rather than renovating or adding to the existing space connected to Riverside Township Hall.
His presentation came after one from BerryDunn, a consulting firm that oversaw a survey of residents and found some Riversiders wished they had access to an indoor recreation center like a gymnasium.
Dogan first walked the board through a plan for the project that would see the entire structure built up over time to accommodate Riverside’s current $20 million budgetary cap for the work.
“Knowing that finance is a concern, we looked at a potential three-phase approach to go from what may be more attainable in the near term to address public safety needs, to a mid-term solution that incorporates more community space, like that large meeting room and a fitness center, to a larger solution that someday incorporates that gym,” he said.
Like Dogan said, the first phase would focus on getting the public safety departments up and running through items like basement and outdoor parking and support spaces on the first and second floors, like the firetruck bay.
The second phase would see the underground parking expanded alongside storage and evidence rooms in the basement. The first floor would be expanded with administrative spaces, including a lobby, and the second floor would gain more spaces specifically for police. New in this phase would be a third floor on the roof, which would include extra police space and community rooms like a kitchen and fitness center.
“The third phase of this would be, let’s see how we can add a gym to this complex,” Dogan said. “In this concept, the parking that was previously outdoor [at the basement level] now becomes covered underneath the gym. As we go up the next few levels, not much changes here, except that we have the gym with the running track on that main level,” though it would be as tall as the second story.
He said the new building would sit closer or further from Riverside Road in different places to break up the facade and make sure “it doesn’t become overwhelming” alongside the existing village hall building.
“It is a very dense arrangement in terms of maximizing the site, but it does — other than concerns about parking — it does technically work,” Dogan said.
In terms of financing, Dogan said Williams did the work of projecting costs out over time for all three phases to give the board an idea of what it all might cost, though due to unknowns about inflation and construction cost escalation, he provided each cost as a range of possible prices.
In total, the first phase would cost about $14.2 million to $15.6 million, Dogan said. Adding on the second phase would bring the total price to about $34.4 million to $37.4 million, and the third phase would bring the total to about $46.8 million to $50.7 million.
In response to a question from Trustee Megan Claucherty, Dogan said the project could take more than two years to complete at minimum, even if Riverside did not have to spread the cost out over time due to budgeting constraints.
After Dogan’s presentation, the trustees discussed potential issues with the plan, like a lack of parking. Village President Doug Pollock raised concerns about frequent gym usage increasing the volume of cars downtown, which could take up what parking is available nearby, though trustees didn’t view it as a problem due to the walkable and transit-oriented nature of the village.
The board also discussed the possibility of pursuing a gymnasium space elsewhere in town, though Pollock noted that would likely require Riverside to acquire residential land and repurpose it after demolishing houses. Trustee Jill Mateo said a gym was not the top indoor programming desire among Riverside residents according to the survey, but Trustee Elizabeth Kos advocated for including the gym anyway.
“Having come from the parks and recreation board, I know how incredibly difficult it is to find gym space to do anything around here. I know that from working in a school, too; gym space is absolutely at a premium around here,” Kos said. “I know we had some frustrations on the parks and rec board with not being able to offer things because we simply could not get gym space to offer it.”
Claucherty said the board ought to look at other spaces for the gym or community spaces, though the rest of the board agreed it would be a futile effort.
“We have exhausted every possibility of existing land that is immediately available,” Pollock said. “When you start talking about acquiring land, that gets a little difficult to have that conversation because you’re affecting people’s lives.”
Ultimately, the board agreed to have Williams continue with its plan for the project, including the community gym.
