Vision, Guiding Principles & Proposed Amenities
Through the input of hundreds of Park Township residents and stakeholders, the community center visioning committee has proposed the following:
Vision Statement:
Our Community Center…
A vibrant, welcoming place where people of all ages gather to connect, grow, relax, and play. A spacious and adaptable destination to serve our community, inspire purpose, and enrich lives.
Guiding Principles
The guiding principles are a core set of values to inform the programming, character, design, operations/maintenance, and financing. These will also serve as an evaluation criteria for the design and implementation phase.
1. Foster Community Connection & Connectivity
• Encourage social connection and belonging within and across generations.
• Create a variety of indoor and outdoor spaces available year-round to offer a mix of active, energetic areas for engagement and quieter, safe places for respite.
• Visually and physically connect the community center to its immediate environment, the surrounding amenities, and the areas beyond.
• Accommodate safe and easy access for pedestrians, bicyclists, drivers, and public transit.
2. Reflect & Celebrate the Park Township Community
• Highlight the community’s unique context, character, and values, including its lakeshore landscapes, agricultural assets, and resort heritage.
• Incorporate design and interpretive elements to enhance resident and visitor awareness of Park Township’s past, present, and future.
• Design, build, and program to support users of different ages, abilities, cultures, and incomes.
3. Be a Responsible Community & Neighborly Steward
• Complement other area destinations and community facilities, minimizing duplication where appropriate.
• Design for and embrace multiple uses for each space to maximize year-round utilization.
• Design and build for long-term sustainability, durability, and easy maintenance.
• Ensure adequate support spaces and offices for storage, mechanicals, AV, and staffing needs.
• Phase and scale the facility development, operations, and resourcing in a feasible manner to ensure short- and long-term financial health.
• Foster synergies and opportunities that are mutually aligned with other community partners.
Amenities: Common Interests & Considerations
These shared interests and considerations are the results of combined feedback from schools outreach, focus groups and a community-wide survey. The committee carefully analyzed the results and grouped a “Top 10” of overlaps from across stakeholder groups, a list of “Maybe’s” and considerations, and a list of items intentionally set aside to avoid duplication of other nearby community amenities.
Primary Considerations
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Secondary
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Set Aside
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Other supportive essentials:
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Park Township Community Park:
Others:
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Design: Look & Feel Preferences
In a dedicated Look & Feel design workshop, members of the community reviewed photographs of benchmark facilities from across our region. Looking at example architecture and design elements for several of the proposed spaces (gym, play area, cafe, reception, etc), participants voted on the elements that resonated most personally and those which they disliked. The committee then tallied the votes and prepared a brief presentation to help encapsulate the community’s design preferences. This output will serve as an important guide when the Township launches a Request for Proposal (RFP) process to identify an architectural firm to undertake the design.
*please note the reference images included in this workshop are not renders or specific proposed designs but are reference photographs from other regional benchmarks.
Summary Presentation
On Sep 16, 2024, Park Township hosted a town hall to report out the proposed vision for the renewed community center. The visioning committee shared the overarching vision, guiding principles and desired amenities for the project as well as a recap of how public input formed that vision. The committee also shared conceptual design directions and a preliminary site design. The report demonstrates a feasible, multi-phase approach to development as well as recommendations on how the township could approach funding. Please find that summary available for download below:
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