After years of planning and outreach, Brooklyn Center officials have outlined a new vision for the city’s community center. When residents head to the polls in November, they will decide if the multi-million dollar project moves forward.
If voters approve, Brooklyn Center would impose a new 0.5% local sales tax to fund various additions to the community center: new gymnasiums, an indoor track and a teen center to name a few. The renovation process would also address mechanical and structural issues in the aging building.
According to Brooklyn Center spokesperson Joe Cardoza, the current community center does not meet the needs of the people who use it.
“The design is antiquated and it severely limits the programs and activities that we can support,” Cardoza said. “There’s inadequate space for additional classrooms and community programs. There’s no space to support additional fitness activities. There’s a lack of meeting and event spaces that the community has been asking for.”
The community center was built in 1971.
Since then, users of the center have steadily increased, with a noted an increase in usage since the COVID-19 pandemic. Children’s summer camps have hit capacity for the last three years, with more on a wait list. At this point in the year last year, the center had 1,352 memberships. This year, memberships are at 1,684.
The city has made efforts to expand the community center’s offerings within the current footprint, meaning some rooms perform double-duty. For example, the public can rent Constitution Hall for events or attend fitness classes in the same space. These multi-function rooms are often booked up as a result.
Beyond space, safety is also a concern in the community center as it stands today. The building was build decades before the American with Disabilities Act passed, meaning entrances and exits aren’t fully accessible. According to Cardoza, air and water filtration systems are also failing.
Brooklyn Center needs at least $37.5 million to pay for the upgrades they are proposing. The Minnesota Legislature approved $5.1 million to help fund the project, but only if the sales tax referendum passes. With a failed vote, Brooklyn Center would lose those state dollars and send city officials back to the drawing board.
“If the sales tax is not approved, then city leadership will reevaluate improvement options and different funding scenarios,” Cardoza said. “The city would still make an effort to make those critical repairs to the community center, but they’d be rolled out in a much longer, slower process.”
If approved, Brooklyn Center residents and visitors would pay an additional cent for every two dollars spent. The local sales tax would remain in effect for 20 years or until $44 million is raised.
“One of the benefits of the sales tax is that the burden doesn’t fall only on Brooklyn Center residents,” Cardoza said. “It takes into account the traffic that’s coming into the city, whether that’s people that come here to eat, people that come here to play or even folks that come and use our community center.”
The city of Brooklyn Center outlines the full plan online at ourcenterourfuture.org .
According to Cardoza, the website aims to inform rather than persuade.
“We’re impartial to any decision, we want to make sure that’s clear,” he said. “We’ve taken the community’s feedback, we’ve done some research, and we’ve developed a plan that we think would benefit the residents and help future proof our building.”
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