Town of Marana breaks ground on Marana Community & Aquatic Center
Published on October 26, 2023
Town Council, Town staff, Abacus Project Management, Architekton, and Chasse Building Team participate in the groundbreaking shovel ceremony.
Construction has officially begun on the Marana Community & Aquatic Center, following the groundbreaking ceremony on Friday, October 20, located at 13455 N. Marana Main Street.
Speakers included Marana Mayor Ed Honea, Parks and Recreation Director Jim Conroy and Deputy Director Wayne Barnett, Abacus Project Management Senior Project Manager Peter Nimmer, Architekton Project Manager Michael Rosso, and Chasse Building Team Executive Director Leigh-Anne Harrison.
"This is a community-driven project. It is designed by the community and will be built for the community," said Parks and Recreation Director Jim Conroy.
The Marana Community & Aquatic Center is the direct result of community feedback provided during the 2020-2023 Town of Marana Parks and Recreation Master Plan process. On October 19, 2021, the Town Council passed a temporary one-half-cent sales tax to fund the project.
Abacus Project Management was selected to lead the project, and Architekton was selected to design the facilities.
"[The Town's] diligence and thoroughness during that [Parks and Recreation] Master Plan effort was so impressive and so crucial to the success of this project," said Architekton Project Manager Michael Rosso. "All that research, analysis, and discovery...allowed for a smooth and seamless transition to the next phase of outreach and development that we needed to facilitate."
Community and stakeholder feedback were included in the development of the facility in the form of surveys, public outreach events, and focus groups. The resulting design consisted of a 60,000-square-foot community center and a 48,000-square-foot outdoor aquatic center located near the Marana Municipal Complex at the corner of Marana Main Street and Bill Gaudette Drive. Click here to view the preliminary concept art.
"There's going to be a lot of activity. From now on, when people drive up and down Marana Main Street and Bill Gaudette, they're going to see a beautiful building coming up out of the ground," said Abacus Project Management Senior Project Manager Peter Nimmer.
Chasse Building Team was selected in December 2022 as the Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR) for the project.
"Today marks a really special milestone," said Chasse Building Team Executive Director Leigh-Anne Harrison. "Today, we celebrate construction beginning, and we take a moment to think about all the lives that will be influenced and impacted by this building, all the memories created, all the laughter that will happen for generations to come."
Not only will the facility serve as a recreational resource for the community, but also a safe space for kids to hang out after school.
"This day is a thank you to the people who live in our community," said Mayor Ed Honea. "This is a culmination of a lot of things, and I feel we are truly blessed, myself and our councilmembers. A half-cent sales tax, it may take eight or nine years to collect enough money to pay for this building, but when we're done, the citizens of Marana own this building."
The Marana Community & Aquatic Center is slated to open in 2025.
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