While Holland Parks and Recreation has done well to offer a variety of programming for the whole family, having that programming spread across thirteen locations has proved challenging for family members wanting to participate in different programs at different locations.

The new Holland Recreation Center will eliminate that hurdle. By consolidating the thirteen location sites into one, the community will have the opportunity to participate in more programming and the department will be able to consolidate its staff to one location.

The What, the Where, and the How of the New Facility

First, the What
The plan is for the Recreation Center to be multipurpose and about 86,000 square feet, the same as the average Kohl’s store.

The space will consist of a gym area that can host up to four basketball courts that can be converted to other sports (volleyball, pickleball, futsol, etc.). Upstairs there will be spectator seating to view the courts below.

Additionally, there will be breakout rooms for non-sports recreation programming. One of the initiatives of the Recreation department has been to develop non-sports programming. According to Assistant City Manager Matt VanDyken, as far as he knows, having non-sports programming was not a directive from the City Manager's office or City Council, but rather was from the Recreation staff.  It was the staff saying, “You know what? We think it's the right thing to do to have ukulele lessons, dance lessons, ballet and art so that every kid in our community has the opportunity to participate in a recreation program in some way, shape, or form.”

For a full list of all of the programming currently offered, check out the Holland Parks and Recreation website.  

The Where
The location of the new Recreation Center will be just north of the skate park in Smallenburg Park, roughly at Fairbanks and 13th Street or Saurin Wolf Way, and adjacent to the Hope College football stadium and the DW Tennis Center.

According to VanDyken, the location was specifically selected. Factoring into the decision was knowing that one of the best thing about Holland's Bouws Pool is that kids in the central neighborhoods with no transportation and maybe not even a bicycle are able to get to the facility. It was important to locate the facility where a lot of kids will have access. The planners also wanted the location close to downtown so that tournaments and sporting events could have a positive impact on the downtown. Lastly, the location chosen allowed an opportunity to share parking with Hope College and ease the impacts of the college’s parking challenges on the neighborhood.

The How
The Assistant City Manager shared that the Recreation Center proposal is the result of “years of planning and penciling and hundreds, if not thousands, of staff hours.” After soliciting construction bids for the project, the selected bid came in at $24,025,541, with an overall project budget of $25,665,041. VanDyken found the bid to be competitive  and under the number originally discussed.

VanDyken said that once the bid is approved, he does not plan to come back to the Council with an increased budget. However, there will still be items that will be over $50,000—outside the authority of the City Manager's office—which will require Council approval, but the cost already will be  covered.

Up until this point, an early site package had been awarded back in September by City Council so that work could begin. To cover that cost, bonds were issued and a large donation was made.

On November 4, City Council voted to approve the construction bid of $24,025,541 for the construction of the Holland Recreation Center; to authorize Lakewood Construction to enter into contracts on the City’s behalf; and to approve an overall project budget of $25,665,041.
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