Four recreation center upgrades nearing completion

As the $2.1 million Memorial Park renovation nears completion, the construction superintendent says residents in the area are clamoring for it to reopen.

Later this fall, Macon-Bibb County is expected to reopen several recreation centers that have undergone major renovations. The sounds of bulldozers will soon disappear at Memorial, Fillmore Thomas Park and the Rosa Jackson and Frank Johnson recreation centers.

As part of the 2012 special purpose sales tax initiative, more than $39 million has been earmarked for about a dozen projects. The gym inside Memorial has become a staging area for the project, led by Piedmont Construction. The center at 764 Long St., originally built in 1947, is getting a new fitness room, multipurpose room, game room, warming kitchen and a renovated pool. Another addition is a computer lab, which could be used for programs such as teaching students the basic concepts of engineering.

“You wouldn’t believe all the people asking when is it going to open, especially now that they see it’s getting close,” said Dan Gibson, the project superintendent for Piedmont.

Construction on Memorial, which began in February, is about 90 percent complete. Memorial and other redesigned centers such as Rosa Jackson will have grand entrances with large windows and expanded lobbies that create a safer and more eye-popping environment, Macon-Bibb County Recreation Director Reggie Moore said.

“The best way to describe it is ‘wow,’ ” he said. “When you walk through those doors and see a plan come to action, you’re just excited not only for your department but for the community.”

A new $1.7 million park — Filmore Thomas — named after a Bellevue neighborhood activist, could be ready to open by the end of October.

Crews at the Log Cabin Drive park, which had been in discussion for decades, have finished building a large pavilion, splash pad and walking trail. Other features include basketball courts and a concrete educational pad.

Commissioner Al Tillman said he’s starting a Friends of Filmore group, finalizing where four benches with the names of residents will be placed, along with planning a grand opening for county officials and the Bellevue neighborhood organization.

At the site of the future south Bibb County recreation center, the foundation for the gym has been poured and about 65 percent of the grading has been completed. A groundbreaking on the $7.6 million center off Houston Road was held in July. The construction project is expected to take about a year to complete.

“Now you’ll start seeing the frame of the building going up,” Moore said.

The renovated Frank Johnson center, located in the Unionville neighborhood off Pio Nono Avenue, will have a new game room, lobby and meeting space. It’s expected to be finished at the end of November.

Construction began in January on east Macon’s $3.4 million Rosa Jackson expansion to 68,000 square feet, which is roughly double the size of the current facility. When it reopens this fall, the Fort Hill neighborhood center will have a new gym, playground, splash pad and multipurpose room, as well as other amenities.

Rosa Jackson is expected to reopen about mid-December.

Macon-Bibb spokesman Chris Floore said plans are also being made for a $3.6 million groundbreaking on the Central City Park upgrades. The Willie “Smokie” Glover Drive park will get four new athletic fields, sidewalks, a playground, pavilions and a skate park.

This story was originally published September 26, 2016 at 5:21 PM with the headline "Four recreation center upgrades nearing completion."