Artist renderings of the Don Umerley Civic Center addition provided by architectural firm Brandstetter, Carroll and Zofcin, which is working with the city on the project.

Civic center addition finalized
Completion set for spring of 2007
By Michelle Payne
Rocky River
Published Nov. 2, 2005

It took two and a half years, but plans for the $8.4 million addition to the Don Umerley Civic Center have finally been approved.

The Rocky River City Council, recreation task force and the city's planning commission unanimously approved the plans during council's Oct. 17 meeting. Several changes were made to the orignial design passed by voters last November and the city had been waiting for architectural firm Brandstetter, Carroll and Zofcin and the recreation department to finalize the plans.

"We've been working on plans since May, so it was just a matter of putting finishing touches on the plans and getting the specifications together," said Mike Patterson, director of Rocky River Parks and Recreation.

The changes made increased the size of the addition from 30,000 to 42,000 square feet. These changes include: making the climbing wall portable, reconfiguring of the parking lot and natatorium, rerouting the outdoor walking path, rearranging the placement of a few play areas and extending the lobby.

The center's biggest and possibly most popular addition will be the natatorium, according to Rocky River Mayor William Knoble.

"The success of outdoor pool is so great that everyone wants to carry over that swimming lifestyle indoors," he said. "The success of the outdoor pool has made everybody more anxious for the new one to open."

The natatorium will include: a four-lane lap pool with a diving area, a two-lane lap pool, water vortex with zero-depth entry, separation wall, small and large water slides, spa, lazy river, locker rooms and a main pool.

The next step in the process is for the city to seek construction bids, but due to the arduous hurricane season, the administration has decided to wait until January to move forward, according to Knoble.

"I'm disappointed that we are not going to meet our original target date," Knoble said. "Originally we hoped to be done by the end of 2006, but due to the national situation with the hurricanes, and other things, it seems advisable to hold off on bidding. I think we're just as well off waiting till January."

The city will start advertising for bids the first two weeks of the new year and hopes to have the review process completed by the beginning of February.Construction is set to begin March first and will take 12 to 15 months, according to Patterson. With the delay in the bidding process, the project is expected to be complete by spring 2007.When completed the original facility, which was completed in May 2001, will be almost double in size at an estimated 80,000 square feet.

Knoble, who was responsible for appointing the recreation taskforce, credits the group with the project's success.

"I am pleased with the design and I think it's going to work very well for us, Knoble said. "This thing wouldn't have happened without the recreations taskforce. They surveyed, they came up with plans and presented them to voters…it's been a total community involvement."