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Location, Location, Location: Study recommends City Park for proposed Parkersburg recreation center

By Evan Bevins 3 min read

PARKERSBURG -- Mayor Tom Joyce said Friday he wants to move ahead with a proposed $13 million activity and recreation center in City Park after a feasibility study assessing potential locations found that to be the top candidate.

"That is my desire," Joyce said. "If (City) Council does move forward with additional appropriations, we're going to be up front about where we're going to build it."

There has been a little over $4 million allocated toward the project so far, most of it from American Rescue Plan Act funds. Joyce said he plans to ask Parkersburg City Council for additional funds and would like to establish a design committee for the project.

Pickering Associates presented renderings of the proposed facility in the park this spring and conducted a public meeting in the nearly 100-year-old, 10,500-square-foot pavilion it could replace.

City officials requested the study from Pickering after feedback included requests to consider alternate sites. Some residents were concerned the project would negatively impact the park or not offer the ancillary development potential other locations could.

"The intent of this space or this building is not to be a civic center," Joyce said. "It's intended to be a community building that could be used for a myriad of things," including to supplement events already held in the park.

Pickering reviewed five potential sites as well as properties owned by the city's Urban Renewal Authority.

No URA sites "would be viable due to size/acreage limits compared to the needs of the Recreation Center," the study said.

The recreation facility would cover about 1.33 acres, the study said. With 116 parking spots to meet municipal code requirements plus green space, the project needs roughly 3 acres.

In addition to City Park, the study examined the Dils Center on Market Street; Johnson T. Janes Park, with entrances off 27th Street and Core Road; Elm Street near the YMCA of Parkersburg and city reservoirs; and Southwood Park.

In addition to size, the study took into account the availability and impact of parking, purchase cost, pedestrian access, available utilities, traffic impact, earthwork and environmental impact and proximity to the floodplain.

City Park had the highest score by virtue of its level of development, sufficient existing parking and already being used for recreation activities, the study said.

Some residents oppose demolishing the pavilion, and the possibility of incorporating it into the new facility was mentioned at some meetings. The study said "renovation or expansion of this existing space could be financially infeasible as it pertains to the scope of this project."

The Dils Center had the next highest score, losing points because it is the only one of the five not owned by the city. In addition to buying the property, there would also be expenses for "renovating and retrofitting the existing structure to suit the needs of the proposed facility in an architectural as well as structural capacity," the study said.

Southwood "would require significant investment to develop to a suitable state for a Recreation Center building," the study said. Site stabilization work would be needed, along with additional parking and the removal of the amphitheater.

The Elm Street site would need grading work and additional parking, plus utilities would have to be run and there is only one point of access along a residential road.

Johnson T. Janes scored the lowest, with "aggressive slopes that would require costly site stabilization techniques," a need to develop parking, access issues and permitting concerns due to proximity to tributaries of Worthington Creek.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.

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