Work to start on new Como Community Center this fall, before costs go up any more

Two years after hitting the pause button, city leaders are ready to get started on giving the Como neighborhood the new community center it was promised in the 2014 bond program.

Project costs have ballooned to $13.9 million from $8.7 million in the meantime.

"This was our first venture at fully replacing a community center that had exceeded its useful life," said Park Director Richard Zavala. "Time has now become one of the costs of the project because of inflation."

To complete the project, the City Council is approved issuing $4.65 million in tax notes for the 25,000-square-foot building and will use $1 million from gas revenues to fill the funding gap.

The center will be built in Chamberlin Park, just north of Vickery Boulevard and east of Bryant Irvin Road. Construction is expected to begin this fall, Zavala said.

The project will not include a planned football field, track and gym that could cost an additional $8 million, the council learned Tuesday.

Councilman Brian Byrd, whose district includes the Como neighborhood, called it a "great project."

"We need to get this done," he said.

District 4 Councilman Cary Moon said the project is too costly and that it's just another facility the city is spending too much money on.

"I continue to struggle with the costs of price per square foot which we are constructing projects," Moon said. "This is approaching $350 per square foot. This is just the $400 hammer metaphor," he said.

As part of the 2014 bond program, voters approved $5.3 million to build the center. Coupled with that was a promise of $1.7 million in private donations, bringing the project to $7 million. A year ago, the City Council approved an additional $1.7 million from money saved in other capital projects, raising the project to $8.7 million.

But now, the private donations have not been realized and contributed to the funding gap.

The center will feature a gymnasium, senior citizen space, classrooms, a kitchen and covered outdoor areas, among other things. It is replacing a smaller, 47-year-old center nearby on Horne Street that has become inefficient to operate, Zavala said.

Among its programs, the Como Community Center has after-school programs and provides meal programs. It has a track and field team, pee wee football and cheerleading leagues, the city said.

This story was originally published April 10, 2018 at 6:42 PM with the headline "Work to start on new Como Community Center this fall, before costs go up any more."