Supervisors approve initial design work for planned Cranberry Township recreation center
CRANBERRY TWP — A new recreation facility in the township is set to enter the initial design phase.
Township supervisors unanimously voted to approve two contracts related to the proposed community engagement center at the board’s Thursday, Nov. 5, meeting.
DesignStream LLC will be tasked with design development through a $1,339,356 agreement with the township.
Supervisors also approved a contract with Sports Facilities Companies LLC for consultation services for the project. The contract costs roughly $55,000 to $60,000, according to Dan Santoro, township manager.
Sports Facilities Companies is a Florida-based company that develops recreation facilities across the U.S. The company operates many comparable facilities and helped the township with market analysis for the project, Santoro said.
Santoro said after a township meeting on Oct. 29 preliminary design and Sports Facilities Companies’ advice on operating the planned community center cost-effectively will help the township better understand the project.
The township, at the moment, does not intend to contract the company for running the facility if constructed, Santoro said.
“They know the cost to run — and they understand the design and flow — of recreation centers,” he said. “They can help us figure out making the right decisions going into the design as opposed to living with mistakes later on.”
The contracts come after nearly two years of feasibility studies and public outreach, as well as recommendations from an advisory committee in August for a 100,000-square-foot facility.
The facility will have 20,000 square feet of turf and four basketball courts, which can also be used as up to eight volleyball courts, according to Kyle Beidler, assistant township manager.
The center is planned for a 10-acre property at the intersection of Rochester Road and Thompson Park Drive.
It will be a nearly 12-month process before a final design and subsequent bidding for the project is completed, Santoro said.
“There’s been no commitment to build this thing yet,” Santoro said. “It’s the commitment to design it and figure out what the actual cost is and then we’ll go from there.
“There are stops along the way.”
Work by DesignStream LLC will generate 30% of the design, Santoro said. The plans will then be reviewed by a third party to get an estimate for the project’s price tag, likely in the spring of 2027, he added.
If the base design gets the go-ahead, the project will enters its next level of design.
Several steps need to be completed along the way before the projects receives final approval from supervisors, Santoro said.
