The long road to reopening the Shawano Recreation Center ended Sept. 12 when the city of Shawano cut the ribbon on its renovated $5.25 million facility.
City Administrator Eddie Sheppard told dozen of spectators the city is really excited about the center’s potential, noting that while signs outside say it is a recreation center, it has morphed into a community center, with places for local organizations to meet and families to hold birthday parties, as well as small businesses to utilize office spaces that can’t be done from their home base.
MSA, based in Appleton, and 8Pine, based in Shawano, worked together with the city to make the new and improved recreation center a reality, Sheppard said. He noted his own staff made a difference when it came to improving on a building built in the 1950s.
“A lot of times, when you think of projects like this with a building, remodels are actually a lot harder,” he said. “Throughout this project, we ran into a lot of things where, if we didn’t have such a great team working together, they would have become problematic. We were on a tight timeline.”
MSA has worked with the city on a few projects, said Jennifer Trader, community development specialist with the company. She noted the grant that funded the recreation center had a primary purpose of providing modern technology and high-speed internet to facilities, but the city saw the opportunity to upgrade the existing building with more than flashy gadgets.
“This was all in response to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Trader said. “This project has definitely accomplished all of that and a lot more. By prioritizing the cutting-edge technology and fostering education … it’s also supporting professional development and developing health-care monitoring.”
Bert Pieper, founder for 8Pine, said watching the recreation center come full circle has been special for him. He said it was a privilege being trusted with the project.
“The most rewarding thing is knowing what comes next,” Pieper said. “Kids learning, families spending time together, and neighbors gathering here for years to come.”
Parks and recreation director Matt Hendricks wrangled up a number of local children to help the city cut the ribbon, noting the recreation center is expected to serve the community well into the future.
“Although this is amazing for us, it’s for the next generation as a 60- or 70-year building,” Hendricks said. “These kids will be using it in their adulthood.”
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
Food was plentiful for visitors to the Shawano Recreation Center on Sept. 12. Besides the food, there was also a bouncy castle, carnival games and other things to keep families entertained. (Lee Pulaski | NEW Media)
Visitors wander through one of the renovated areas of the Shawano Recreation Center during an open house Sept. 12 that included a ribbon cutting marking the official reopening. The center had a soft opening Aug. 24 where the facilities were available to the community. (Lee Pulaski | NEW Media)
