Island Recreation Center expansion to begin next year

Construction of the long-planned expansion of the Island Recreation Center on Hilton Head's north end is due to begin in mid-2016, local officials announced last week.

The $7-million expansion will completely redesign the center and triple the facility's size to about 46,000 square feet, according to the latest plans.

The new facility will include a full-size gymnasium with retractable bleachers, a second-floor running track and exercise areas, expanded office space, a climbing wall, new basketball and tennis courts, and new field lighting.

"It's quite impressive," said Town Councilwoman Kim Likins, who serves on the council's Public Facilities Committee.

Plans to upgrade the almost 30-year-old center have been in the works for nearly a decade, and the general concepts for an expansion have changed repeatedly over the past several years.

The designs presented this month are a rearranged version of those previously approved by Town Council in early 2014.

The changes will now expand the parking lot behind Hilton Head High School, relocate the tennis courts that are there now and shift plans for a playground to behind the existing rec center building, according to the plans. The school and center will then share the new parking to alleviate the school's capacity problems during the day and the center's in the evening, Island Recreation Association director Frank Soule said.

The renovation also will include a new pool and a new pool toilet building that will eliminate the need for swimmers to go back into the center to use the restroom, as they do now, said Barry Taylor, the FWA Group architect designing the facility. It is unlikely to include a once-proposed permanent dome, however, due to cost constraints

Once expanded, the center expects to eventually see to 500 to 600 patrons a day -- up from the current 200 per day, Soule said.

The town will present the project to the Beaufort County School District next month, said town director of public projects Scott Liggett.

The school technically owns the property, so the town, district and Island Recreation Association delineate its maintenance costs and use agreements through a dated 1987 lease, said Derek Coaxum, town assistant facilities manager.

That lease, a shared parking agreement and the town's partnership with the Island Recreation Association will all be reviewed and updated next spring as the project moves forward to reflect the expanded center, Liggett said.

"The circumstances, the conditions, the clientele has all changed and we've gotten a lot of mileage out of the arrangement for the last 30 years, so what's in store for the next 30?" Liggett asked Monday. "It's a great project. I know the association and the citizenry seems to be looking forward to its completion. Everybody seems to be on board."

Follow reporter Zach Murdock on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Zach and on Facebook at facebook.com/IPBGZach.

Related content:

• Serious game with a funny name: Pickleball continues to grow in popularity in Beaufort County, June 1, 2015
• $1.2 million rowing center opens on Hilton Head Island, Dec. 1, 2014
• Hilton Head council approves rec-center expansion plan, Feb. 18, 2014
• Hilton Head committee endorses ambitious plans for rec center expansion, Jan. 4, 2011

This story was originally published December 21, 2015 at 5:24 PM with the headline "Island Recreation Center expansion to begin next year."