Huber Heights proposed aquatic center
Size: 2 acres
Features: Water slides, zero-depth-entry pool access, a lazy river, interactive water features and sprayground
Cost: Roughly $5 million
Number of visitors: TBD
City's population: 38,000
Tippecanoe Family Aquatic Center
Size: N/A
Features: Six-lane, 25-meter competition pool with two diving boards, zero-depth entry leisure pool with play structure and dumping buckets, a pair of 28-foot-tall slides, children's splash pad and bathhouse and concessions
Cost: $3.8 million
Number of visitors: 55,500
Tipp City population: 9,700
The Troy Aquatic Park
Size: 2 to 3 acres
Features: Zero-depth entry pools, two water slides, one drop slide, wading pools and an interactive, four-level water feature
Cost: $3.9 million
Number of visitors: 40,325
Troy population: 25,000
HUBER HEIGHTS — A firm hired by the city has laid out the groundwork for the proposed recreation complex near the Interstate 70/Brandt Pike interchange that city officials hope will help transform the area into a hotbed of commercial activity.
Preliminary site plans for the complex include an outdoor aquatic center, game fields, amphitheater, pedestrian paths and open space, and could also feature a skate park and dog park, said Lawrence Brandstetter, president of the engineer, architect and planning firm, Brandstetter Carroll Inc.
The proposed amenities match the community’s wish list of new attractions, gleaned from the results of a citywide survey last year.
“Park board members gave us their priorities based on what they feel the needs of the city are, and we took those priorities and used them as a basis of what would go into the new park,” Brandstetter said.
The first phase of the proposed recreation complex will focus on a multimillion-dollar aquatic center, featuring between 12,000 to 18,000 square feet of water surface, Brandstetter said. City officials last month estimated the aquatic center project would cost about $5 million, but Brandstetter declined to put a price on the project.
The center’s amenities would include water slides, zero-depth-entry pool access, a lazy river, interactive water features and sprayground.
“It focuses on the needs of everyone and it attempts to satisfy the aquatic needs of the community, and not all of (aquatic centers) do,” Brandstetter said. “This will provide a lot of water-related experiences for people of all ages.”
Many of the project’s details have yet to be hammered out, but the Planning Commission on Tuesday will consider a basic development plan for the aquatic center, and the parks and recreation board will review the master plan later this month.
City Councilman Mark Campbell said the complex would be an anchor for the already developing Brandt Pike corridor, and it would help distinguish the area from other shopping districts, such as The Greene in Beavercreek.
Even though Brandstetter Carroll has not released predictions about the number of visitors the complex would attract, other aquatic centers in the Miami Valley welcome tens of thousands of visitors each year.
The Troy Aquatic Park, built in 2004 for $3.9 million, welcomed 40,325 visitors in 2010, said Carrie Slater, the city’s assistant recreation director. Troy has a population of about 25,000 people, about 13,000 less than Huber Heights.
The center, which has water slides, wading pools and an interactive, four-level water feature, cost about $235,000 to operate last year, but it made money, generating $253,000 in revenue.
Tipp City, population 9,700, opened the $3.8 million Tippecanoe Family Aquatic Center in May 2005.
The center, which welcomes about 55,500 visitors annually, has diving boards, a leisure pool, a play structure with dumping bucket, slides, children’s splash pad and bathhouse, said Jon Crusey, city manger.
Aquatic centers improve a city’s quality of life and provide families with a great way to spend any given afternoon in the summer, city officials said.
“They have something for everyone and entertain the children,” Slater said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-0749 or cfrolik@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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