Cranberry Township recreation center plans headed to supervisors
Initial steps taken over a year ago to consider making a recreation engagement center a reality for Cranberry Township will face a crucial test Thursday, Aug. 6 when supervisors will decide whether to move forward with a plan for the facility.
Plans for the center, which has been in early planning stages since a feasibility study was approved in June 2025, now can incorporate the results of a survey of residents to guide officials in evaluating options.
Renderings unveiled in June visualize the proposed recreation engagement center as a facility offering amenities, including gymnasiums, fitness rooms, rentable multipurpose rooms, tracks and an artificial turf field.
At the time of the unveiling, assistant township manager Kyle Beidler did not disclose cost figures for the project, saying it was too early in the process to have drawn any actual estimates.
“At this stage, the renderings and drawings are highly conceptual,” Beidler said at the time. “They are intended only to illustrate a broad vision of what the facility could eventually become, rather than represent final design decisions or detailed project costs.”
Officials said, depending on which of two options the township could potentially move forward with, the facility could generate up to $500,000 for the township annually by year three of operation.
The original model drawn was a 180,000-square-foot facility with six multipurpose basketball courts and 30,000 square feet of turf, Beidler said.
Though estimates claimed the large facility could create the surplus of $500,000 estimated, an ad hoc advisory committee formed to provide recommendations for the project found that to achieve those figures, the facility would have to be busy 24 hours per day, seven days per week.
“We were packing it with tournaments. We were packing it with outside folks,” Beidler said. “What we believed we were going to sacrifice is the experience of our residents.”
The township then sought more resident-friendly options, Beidler said. Two alternatives came out of that search.
The first option is a less-expensive, 50,000-square-foot facility with two basketball courts and no turf estimated to generate about $200,000 in revenue by year three.
The second alternative is about 100,000 square feet, with four basketball courts, eight volleyball courts and about 20,000 square feet of turf. It is estimated to be able to generate close to the same revenue by year three as the original 180,000-square-foot facility.
Beidler said the revenue generated is comparable for the second alternative and the original model despite the difference in size due to a significant difference in operation costs.
Survey results are being used to further refine the options. A July 21 meeting between township officials and the ad hoc committee centered around reviewing those results.
With more than 100 responses, about 90% of respondents said parks and recreation are very important or important to their quality of life. About 70% said the recreation center in the works is very important or important for the same.
With survey results favoring the construction of the center, the ad hoc committee voted unanimously to move forward with the next phase and send plans to township supervisors for review.
“This marks an important step as we continue evaluating the project and refining the concept,” said Kyle Beidler, assistant township manager.
At the Cranberry Conversations session in June, Beidler presented the best-case scenario for a projected timeline.
Getting the environmental permits, preliminary engineering and final design could take at least a year, he said. A bid award could potentially happen in late 2027, with construction to begin in the spring of 2028.
The township has already secured a location for the project. Beidler said the township considered several potential sites before locking down a 10-acre property located at Rochester Road and Thompson Park Drive.
The property was approved to be acquired from Divine Grace Parish’s St. Ferdinand Church at the township’s agenda preparation meeting May 28.
“We're closing on that property,” Beidler said at the event. “We identified that as the prime location.”
At the June Cranberry Conversations session, Beidler compared the planning of the recreational center to that of the township’s municipal center, which was built in 1991.
“The supervisors at that time were looking forward in creating this (center) and that's why it is the dynamic municipal center you see today,” he said.
He noted the municipal building consists of the library, a senior center and early learning programming. The conceptualized community engagement center, similarly, would be multifaceted.
“Really, this is a long-term investment in the quality of life in this township and everything else we're doing,” Beidler said.
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A rendering of the proposed Recreation Engagement Facility in Cranberry. Submitted image
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A rendering of the proposed Recreation Engagement Facility in Cranberry. Submitted image
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A rendering of the proposed Recreation Engagement Facility in Cranberry. Submitted image
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A rendering of the proposed Recreation Engagement Facility in Cranberry. Submitted image
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A rendering of the proposed Recreation Engagement Facility in Cranberry. Submitted image
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A rendering of the proposed Recreation Engagement Facility in Cranberry. Submitted image
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A rendering of the proposed Recreation Engagement Facility in Cranberry. Submitted image
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A rendering of the proposed Recreation Engagement Facility in Cranberry. Submitted image
