‘This is a game changer’: Hardeeville makes headway on $8.5 million recreation center
After years of planning and dreaming, Hardeeville took a step last week toward a “game-changing” multi-million dollar community recreation center.
“It’s been a long drawn-out dream and process, but it’s finally coming to fruition,” Jennifer Combs, director of the City of Hardeeville’s Parks, Recreation and Tourism department, told The Island Packet Thursday.
The project began before Combs became director about 1 1/2 years ago, but since then, the city has “ definitely amped up the process,” she said.
On Monday, the permit for site clearing was approved. Combs said the department is still reviewing building permits, but hopes to have that completed in the next couple of months.
The Hardeeville Indoor Recreation Center will be at the corner of John Smith Road and McTeer Street. It’s set to include an NCAA-size gymnasium, a track, racquetball courts, community rooms and classrooms.
Combs said they hope residents will rent rooms in the facility for events such as birthday parties or baby showers, and the department has already started working with different agencies to plan programs such as the YMCA leading fitness classes.
“This is a game changer for Hardeeville,” Combs said. “It certainly puts us on the map.”
The total budget for the center is $8.5 million, with $6.5 million of that coming from lodging tax revenue and the remaining $2 million from a loan, Combs said. The department is also still seeking sponsorship and donations as well.
The facility, which Bobbitt Design Build has been hired to build, is expected to be completed by Christmas 2020 or earlier, Combs said.
In the meantime, the department welcomes ideas on how the recreation center should be used. The center will be open to more than just Hardeeville residents.
“We’re all about community, and that’s not only the Hardeeville community,” Combs said. “We want to make sure we’re taking care of all of Jasper County.”
The City of Hardeeville is one of the Lowcountry’s fastest-growing municipalities.
The city’s population grew more than 113% between the 2010 and 2018 censuses, jumping from 3,055 to 6,515 residents, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics.
This story was originally published August 30, 2019 at 11:05 AM.
