Hundreds have weighed in on Tumwater’s new community center. Here’s what’s been decided
Tumwater officials have heard from hundreds of residents asking for a community center with a number of amenities for all ages. After more than two decades of talk, plans are underway to finally bring a community center to life.
Parks and Recreation Director Chuck Denney said four sites have been identified as feasible locations for the new center. One is a site on 93rd Avenue Southwest, which will be developed into housing and an urban village. Another is a property owned by the Port of Olympia off Tumwater Boulevard and 75th Avenue Southwest, near the airport and the city hall campus.
The other two sites are the old Department of Transportation building on Capitol Boulevard, and the old brewery site.
The highest-rated, most feasible property, according to the city, is the airport property off 75th Avenue.
A decades-old plan
Denney said city officials have been talking about a new community center for a long time, but they started taking it seriously back in 2008. The plan was to fund the project with Public Facilities District tax dollars, but they instead went to the Hands On Children’s Museum in Olympia.
He said in 2018 Tumwater residents voted to create the Metropolitan Park District, and it was then that folks were asked what they wanted that money to go to; a community center came out on top of the list.
Denney said the park district schedule included design for a community center starting in 2025.
City officials and design consultants with Barker Rinker Seacat Architecture have so far hosted two community workshops to engage the public on what they want in a community center. The first was Oct. 21, and the second was Jan. 13.
Denney said the first one was an education and informational workshop.
“We invited the public to come, and we talked to them about trends in community centers around the nation, what typically goes into a community center,” he said. “And then the process that we would be going through in order to work with residents of Tumwater to determine what Tumwater’s needs were both now and in the future for an indoor recreation facility.”
The workshop included exercises and a card game, as well as a presentation. The presentation included renderings of amenities a community center could have, and what it could look like on different properties.
Denney said there aren’t that many available pieces of land for this type of project in Tumwater. He said they need at least 10 acres of land, and preferably there would be minimal obstructions to development.
“We don’t want a ton of wetlands or pocket gophers or any of the things that would greatly increase the cost to develop this facility,” he said. “We want it to be central to the residents of Tumwater. “
What does the community want?
An online survey received more than 700 responses from residents who shared their thoughts on what a future community center should look like. Marisa Worden with Tumwater Parks and Recreation said an indoor walking track was at the top of the list of wants.
Denney said another top priority was a senior space. He said there’s a senior center now on the bottom floor of the Old Town Center on Tumwater Hill, and relocating it to a more appropriate facility has been on the city’s list for some time.
He said there will be a senior-dedicated space in the new community center, and a number of hard courts to play sports such as basketball, pickleball, volleyball and more. There will also be an exercise facility, an indoor track, and community meeting rooms. The plan also calls for a catering kitchen for events.
Denney said the project will be funded through the city’s Metropolitan Park District tax. According to the city’s website, current projections have targeted revenues for the next five years of the district at $1.5 million annually, generated by a 45-cent-per-thousand property tax.
The rate increases in 2026 to 75 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value to generate $2.5 million of annual revenue.
According to the city’s presentation, the project could cost anywhere from $24 million to $60 million, depending on the amenities and programs chosen. That cost doesn’t include land acquisition or leasing costs.
Next steps
Denney said the project team will be presenting the information and opinions collected during the two workshops to the City Council on Jan. 28. He said ultimately the council will decide what the facility becomes.
He said assuming that all goes well, the team will choose a location for the facility, and how the building would be situated on the property.
There will be a virtual committee workshop on Feb. 28, followed by an in-person committee workshop on April 8. The project will come to council again on April 8 as well. Residents can keep up-to-date with project meetings by signing up for emails on the city’s website.
Denney said the project is still in the feasibility and design study phase. If it’s all approved by council, it will move to the actual building design of the facility, which will take anywhere from 6 to 10 months to complete.
After almost a year of putting together plans and permitting, the project will move into the building phase, which will take 18-24 months. Denney said, big picture, it will take three to five years altogether to complete.
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