The Pella City Council will review options for building a new performing arts center versus upgrading the current Community Center at their meeting Tuesday.
Short Elliott Hendrickson, Inc. has recently completed analysis of construction of a new facility, after previously providing different options for renovation and the cost of upgrading needed components of the current building on Union Street in 2019 and 2020. This new assessment included a focus group of elected officials and members of the Community Services Department, as well as interviews with the leaders of Pella Police, Fire, and Ambulance.
The proposal would allow for a few options, but ultimately construct a new performing arts center with either a 500 or 1,000 seat auditorium, on-site parking between 16-70 spots (and additional public right-of-way spaces), and space for expanded Pella Community Art programs and new city council chambers at the old Second Christian Reformed Church location at the corner of Union Street and East 1st Street. The projected cost of a new facility would be between $18.6 million and $22.8 million, according to the assessment (see comparisons of key aspects below);
Four main options for the Pella City Council moving forward:
If the Pella Community Center project is phased or scheduled in further the future than in the next few years — especially with council also considering a proposed indoor recreation facility at the Pella Sports Park, the cost to meet current service needs would be approximately $750,000 for modernization of the current elevator, improve restrooms, and ceiling updates, and closer to $5.2 million for more significant upgrades to the current facility without expansion considered by the Friends of the Pella Community Center, which could add potentially 20 years of service to the structure without additions to the building.
The proposed site of the former Second Christian Reformed Church was generally supported by the focus group, according to City Administration; however, the Pella Fire Department and Pella Community Ambulance would prefer to have a future public safety complex located in the downtown, which at one point became an issue for debate during the 2021 city election. The most recent long-term facilities plan in 2019 proposes a combined Fire/EMS station at the former Second Christian Reformed Church property. At the time of that draft, City Administration thought the need for a new Fire/EMS station would occur by the end of this decade.
Click here to read the full council memo, including proposed designs from the Friends of the Pella Community Center for renovation of the current facility, and the proposals drafted for a new performing arts center.
No formal action will be taken at the meeting this Tuesday at 6 p.m. in the Pella Public Safety Complex, and additional work sessions are coming up in the next few months to review other aspects of the community’s long-term facility plans. This can be viewed online.
Following this week’s meeting, strategic work sessions are scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, January 25 and Wednesday, January 26, in the Pella City Council Chambers at 614 Main Street. The Pella City Council intends to complete their long-term facilities plans sometime in March, which follows budget workshops in February.