DOVER— EDis, a construction management firm in Wilmington, presented an update for the Kent County Recreation Center to Levy Court Tuesday night.
The 65,000 -square-foot facility on New Burton Road in Dover is still on track to open in February.
The new facility, designed by the Becker Morgan Group of Dover, will be Kent County’s first consolidated recreation center and also will replace the Boys & Girls Club facility on Simon Circle.
EDis is working on Kent County’s portion of the building, while Lighthouse Construction, of Magnolia, is building the Boys & Girls Club.
Construction of the $10.7 million building began in 2013, as it will share a common entrance with the Boys & Girls Club, as well as the parking lot, two outbuildings, a public restroom near outside playing fields and a maintenance building.
“The last couple of weeks have been very productive,” said Gerald Doherty, senior vice president of Edis. “The roof is completed, which is about a week faster than we originally planned. It’s moving along well. We want to close the skin of the building before Thanksgiving,” Mr. Doherty added.
“Then all the work needed to be done is inside of the building. Then it’s time for materials delivery. The key right now is getting the building closed for the winter months.”
Plans call for the Kent County side of the building, which will be to the left of the entrance, to contain a large gymnasium that can be configured for basketball, volleyball, youth tennis, and indoor lacrosse, soccer and field hockey.
The recreation center will also consist of one large field, which will be used for field hockey, football, lacrosse and soccer. The floor, regardless of surface, will have permanent markings for at least two of the sports.
“We have intentions to complete the field before the winter hits,” Mr. Doherty said. “We’ll let it sit and then in the spring time we’ll come back and do the normal maintenance that’s needed for the field.”
The Boys & Girls Club will feature a game and activity room, computer and teen rooms and classrooms for afterschool activities.
The children also will be able to use the gym on the Kent County side when it is not scheduled for county-sponsored activities.
“Our intention is to get as much done before the winter,” Mr. Doherty said. We plan to sit down with the committee and team to prepare a more formal detailed description, as to how we’re going to prepare for next couple of months.
“We want to map out as much as we can before the winter hits.”