Council Corner

Community Center Update

Progress continues to bring a Community Center to Happy Valley

Recently, the City Council has been meeting monthly with the Parks Advisory Committee to provide input and guidance on the development of the future Community Center. The City is planning for construction to begin in Spring 2026 with completion targeted for early 2028. To meet those timelines, there is a lot of work to do! Here are just a few of the updates we discussed with the Parks Advisory Committee last month.

Community Center Focus Groups

Over the course of the last few years, the City conducted significant community engagement for this project to make sure the amenities included in the final design meet local needs. To take engagement to the next level, the City hired a public opinion and research firm to reach a representative sample of community members who may not have otherwise participated in previous engagement efforts. Most recently, this included two focus groups of Happy Valley residents. Here are just a few of the things we learned.

• To Happy Valley, this is more than a recreation center or aquatic facility – it’s a Community Center.
• People are hungry for a place to gather and connect. They don’t want to drive far away and want to disconnect from their devices.
• Programming for the Community Center should be multi-generational and provide a meaningful impact across the lifespan.
• The indoor swimming pool is still the top priority.

Community Center Exterior Design

While people care most about the amenities in the community center (i.e. pool, multi-purpose gymnasium, community room, etc.) we know the look and feel is important. During the joint meeting with the Parks Advisory Committee, the City’s Architect presented several renderings of the current design. The intent is to mirror the Happy Valley design style in a cost-effective way. While it’s still early in the process, it’s exciting to see the design take shape!

Want More?

If you are interested to read more about the Community Center, see the designs, building layout, location, etc. visit hv.city/community-center.