Upper Arlington's $85-million Bob Crane Community Center taking shape after four decades

Upper Arlington has long debated having a modern, standalone community center with weight rooms, basketball courts, an indoor swimming pool and a gathering space for meetings and activities for young and old. Its location and cost were persistent questions that would become hurdles for decades.

But now, just south of the "five corners" intersection in this kidney-shaped city of about 36,000, the five-story framework of a recreational behemoth has pushed skyward at the Kingsdale Shopping Center. The $85-million Bob Crane Community Center is a monster project that may be a tangible answer to those who questioned whether it would ever happen.

"There had been at least three attempts before this," said Emma Speight, the city's community affairs director since 2001. "This is like a 40-year process in the making."

There was perennial reluctance to raise taxes in the city, whose large senior population especially felt that those on fixed incomes might be priced out of living there. Others simply asked that those who would use such a facility should pay for it. And few were willing to convert park and greenspace to a building in a city that already is landlocked.

So the city borrowed the money needed to begin. The turning point was the May 2021 election issue asking Upper Arlington voters to support $54 million in notes to build the structure. The issue passed by almost 80%. The balance of the funding has come from tax-increment financing (TIF) agreements with developer Continental Development, city revenues and private funding.

Continental has helped redevelop Kingsdale, which has had restaurants, hardware and grocery stores and a variety of merchants near the site of the former Macy's and, before that, Lazarus. The developer has added more than 400 apartments, 104 senior-housing units, restaurants and a two-story parking garage next to the community center.

Feedback sought during COVID-19

As fears of the coronavirus spread across the U.S., the timing to begin asking for input from Upper Arlington residents on the proposed community center couldn't have been worse.

Shortly after COVID-19 was first reported in the United States in the Pacific Northwest in January 2020, quarantines and masks quickly took over.

That month, "Over a two-week period … the Planning Team conducted interviews by phone that included almost 40 individuals," according to a 365-page task force report studying feasibility of such a project.

Dubbed the Community Center Feasibility Task Force, the group of stakeholders and community leaders forged ahead with planning.

Besides the cost and location, some residents in follow-up surveys just wanted progress toward a facility in Upper Arlington much like those in Canal Winchester, Dublin, Westerville and Worthington. (Hilliard's community center also is currently under construction.)

"By the time UA gets one I will be dead or too old to make use of it, but they need one badly!" an unnamed respondent said in a survey.

Another respondent said: "I would love a space that could support the mental and physical well‐being of my whole family."

Still others in the suburb focused on the cost versus the need.

"Please try to do this without a tax levy. We are already burdened tremendously with excessive school costs."

Some respondents also raised suspicions, including this one: "No matter what is said by the city, tax money will eventually be needed to pay for the operation of such a center. Infrastructure costs will also add to the tax burden; don't trust the city on this one."

And one respondent shared a combination of both sentiments: "I do believe that this type of facility would be a jewel in the community, but only if the funding can be secured from private funds."

Five-story rec center 'unique' to Ohio, suburbs

"To find land to build a sprawling center in UA, like those in Westerville or elsewhere, was not going to happen," said Keith Hall, principal of MSA Sport, architect of record for the project. "The challenge was how to take that community center, big spaces with basketball courts and swimming pool and meeting rooms, and stack them on top of each other.

"You'd normally see this in a very dense environment like Chicago or New York or even Los Angeles," Hall said.

And in a nod to Kingsdale history, sections of a gigantic sycamore tree that was felled for construction has been milled into a front counter that visitors will see upon checking in. Iconic shaded blue bricks from the former Macy's building have been incorporated into the entrance to the locker rooms.

A look inside

The building site plan reveals a massive entrance flanked by a sprawling exercise room filled with equipment. On the other side is an indoor play area for kids. On the building's eastern edge there is a "zero-entry" pool where patrons use a sloped walkway rather than ladders to access the pool, which will include lap lanes and a water slide.

The second floor will be a hub for seniors. Initially planned for the top floor, surveys quickly showed that seniors didn't want the hassle of navigating stairs or elevators. So it was moved and now will have rooms for pilates, fitness activities and games. A large lounge leading to an outdoor patio will feature a fire pit and views of the city. Offices for city parks and recreation staff will be relocated there as well.

Ohio State University is leasing half the second floor (34,000 square feet) for a cancer survivors area, integrated health services and offices. The 15-year lease is expected to offset some of the building's costs.

The third floor houses three high school-dimension basketball courts that would also be available for volleyball or pickle ball. Ohio State will offer physical therapy services on that floor.

The fourth floor will have several more basketball courts, a room for gaming and electronic sports, and a billiard room.

The hope with those facilities is to bridge the ages, said Steve Schoeny, Upper Arlington city manager since 2019. "The happiest day for me will be when some parent calls to say that their kid's been hustled by some 80-year-old," he joked.

Finally, the top floor will offer sweeping views of the Ohio State University campus, downtown Columbus, and on a clear day, areas as far away as Madison County. A large banquet room will be for special events and weddings. And another outdoor patio will face south with seating and reading areas. A large walking/running track will overlook the basketball courts below.

An array of solar panels will cover much of the roof, generating the equivalent power needed to operate the city's fleet of diesel fire and dump trucks and other diesel equipment. Savings are estimated at $50,000 a year.

Floor-by-floor 3-D artists renderings are available on the city's website.

Ample parking, but some feel squeezed

A 300-space parking lot is being built on the southeast side of the community center, expected to be enough for the anticipated 1,400 daily visitors.

Jasmine Holmes, manager of MCL Cafeteria next door, worries that the popular restaurant with daily specials will become surrounded and less accessible.

"The only problem is we're enclosed here, and no one can see us anymore," she said of the once highly visible signs and views out.

In addition, many of the older customers using walkers or canes might have difficulty parking, she said.

"We want them to let us know, and we'll find other ways," she said, noting the restaurant is considering parking assistance or some form of concierge service.

Debbie McLaughlin, Upper Arlington's parks and recreation director, calls the facility a great opportunity "to unite all our services throughout the community … and to grow programs that we don't have now."

"This is absolutely exciting," she said.

Don Leach, who was either City Council president or vice president for six of his eight years on council, said he recently moved to be near the community center that he says is long overdue.

"I live within sight of it," he said. "It's something that's been needed for a long time. … It's an exciting time for Upper Arlington."

dnarciso@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Upper Arlington community center under construction after 4 decades