Virginia Beach, Va. (WTKR) - Construction has started on the new Bow Creek Recreation Center in Virginia Beach.
The City gave McKenzie Construction the notice to proceed with building the new rec center on July 8.
The old recreation center was demolished over the spring, after it closed to the public in August 2012.
"It was a building that was built in 1961 as a country club for the Bow Creek Golf Course, so it was really not constructed as a recreation center," explained Bob Maholchic, a project manager with the City of Virginia Beach. "The building systems were deteriorated and tough to maintain and very expensive for the city to keep it going. It didn’t provide the quality recreation experience that we come to expect."
The new Bow Creek Recreation Center will be twice the size of the old one, with an indoor swimming pool and expanded fitness areas.
In addition to a new playground, stormwater management systems on the property will see improvements to control flooding and improve water quality.
"We are doing a constructed wet land around the recreation center that will accept drainage from the Bow Creek neighborhoods," Maholchic explained. "We’ll take advantage of that with overlook decks and some pedestrian paths through the wetlands."
The new Bow Creek is expected to open to the public in December 2014.
Click here to see renderings of the new Bow Creek Recreation Center.
Click here to learn more about the new Bow Creek Recreation Center.
