Maple Grove Community Center Construction Beginning to Rise Out of Ground
Construction on the first phase of the Maple Grove Community Center expansion has begun, about a year and a half after a half-cent sales tax went into effect to help pay for it.
A rendering of what the third sheet of ice at Maple Grove Community Center could look like. Construction on the expansion has begun.
“Construction started early August, after Maple Grove Days,” said Maple Grove Parks and Recreation Director Chuck Stifter. “It started kind of slow, but they’ve really advanced construction recently, in the last month or so, doing a lot of underground utility work.” He said crews have done work on the south-facing wall of the existing Kottemann Orthodontics Rink to shore up the foundation for the new sheet and the building that houses it.
“The building walls will probably go up mid-November, that’s a good guess. Then, of course, the site will start to level out, and parking lots will start to get graded, and curbs will go it, so a lot will happen here before winter,” said Stifter.
The community center, the ice arenas, banquet facilities, and other amenities remain open during construction, as does a vast majority of the parking lot, which will also be expanded.
“We still have 400 parking spots available. We have an election coming up, and that’s important for them, as this is an election site, so having 400 spots will meet their needs,” said Stifter. “It pretty much meets the needs we have this time of year. Once hockey gets going, that can really fluctuate a lot, so we’ll navigate through that. But we’re open!”
Stifter encourages everyone to keep up with the progress at the city’s project website.
He also said conversation will ramp up in the new year about phase two, which may include the Lifetime Fitness site adjacent to the community center.
“Because we started this five years ago, we’re going to revisit and do some community engagement and really kind of make sure we’re on the right path, remind folks about where we’re headed and make sure the community is still buying into that plan,” he said.
